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Stiff joints are a common symptom that can also be associated with pain. If the joints are stiff, one may experience that the mobility of the body is impaired. Painful and stiff joints can, for example, be due to rheumatism or arthritis, but the symptoms can also occur if you have a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, stiffness has been linked to various conditions that occur as you age. For example, injuries suffered earlier in life can cause stiffness and pain in joints as you get older. Joint stiffness is also the main cause of disability in older individuals.
There are various treatments to relieve joint stiffness and pain. In this article, we will go through which nutritional supplements can help with these symptoms.
Below we list some different food supplements that have been shown to have positive effects against stiff and/or painful joints.
Collagen occurs in the body's connective tissue, for example in joints and cartilage, as well as in the extracellular matrix, i.e. in the substance found between the cells. Dietary supplements with collagen from fish have been shown to be able to treat stiff and/or painful joints, for example in osteoarthritis. Similar results have been demonstrated for other types of collagen, such as type II collagen and hydrolyzed type I collagen. It is believed that this may partly be due to the fact that the collagen has an anti-inflammatory effect, which is beneficial in these conditions. You can buy supplements with collagen peptides for stiff joints here.
Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that occurs, just like collagen, naturally in the extracellular matrix of the body. There are also high levels of hyaluronic acid in cartilage and synovial fluid, and it is believed to have an important role in 'lubricating the joints'. In addition to the fact that hyaluronic acid is found naturally in the body, it is also usually used in skin care and in food supplements.
Various inflammatory mechanisms involved in osteoarthritis are thought to be inhibited by high molecular weight hyaluronic acid. In several clinical studies, it has also been seen that dietary supplements with hyaluronic acid have alleviated the symptoms of people who suffered from knee pain. The supplements also did not appear to cause any side effects in the study participants treated with hyaluronic acid in these studies. Hyaluronic acid is found in our popular product COLLAGEN SKIN & HAIR COMPLEX , which contains 10,000 mg of marine collagen per daily dose together with hyaluronic acid, among other things!
Chondroitin is a substance found naturally in cartilage and connective tissue in the body. It is also usually used as a dietary supplement for various problems in the joints. Chondroitin has also been shown in several studies to be able to reduce pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis, when comparing people who were allowed to take dietary supplements with chondroitin with people who only received a placebo. This effect was also seen when chondroitin was combined with glucosamine*. The researchers who compiled these studies point out, however, that more studies of higher quality are needed to investigate what role chondroitin could have in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
*Just like chondroitin, glucosamine is a body-specific substance. Glucosamine has a function in the formation of cartilage and tendons.
Sulfur is usually sold as a dietary supplement in the form of methylsulfonylmethane, MSM for short. It is a naturally occurring organic form of sulfur, and the use of MSM has been linked to improvements in, among other things, inflammation, oxidative stress, and muscle and joint pain. This is likely because MSM has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
One study investigated whether a dietary supplement containing MSM, vitamin C and collagen could improve joint function in 100 people over the age of 50 with at least one symptom related to degenerative joint disease. These symptoms included stiffness, pain and swelling in the joints, as well as whether they had difficulty walking, or getting out of bed or down stairs. The study participants were allowed to take the dietary supplement for 12 weeks, and the results showed that the dietary supplement provided relief from these symptoms and had positive results on the function of the joints. Furthermore, another study found that people who were supplemented with 3 g of MSM a day, 3 weeks before a marathon, had lower levels of muscle and joint pain after exercise compared to people who only received a placebo. However, this result was not statistically significant, but only clinically significant*.
Foods that are rich in sulfur include eggs, onions, garlic, leeks. Vegetables from the cabbage family, such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, red and white cabbage, also contain plenty of sulphur.
*If a result is statistically significant, it means that the result is probably not due to chance, something that could not be proven in this study. However, the result was clinically significant, which means that the result had an important effect for the patients.
Vitamin C (also called ascorbic acid) can help contribute to healthy joints and reduce joint inflammation and is considered beneficial for most early stage osteoarthritis. In addition, vitamin C is needed for the body to produce collagen . As we mentioned earlier, collagen is an important component of connective tissue, such as in cartilage and joints.
If you want to get vitamin C through food, you can eat kiwi, broccoli, peppers, oranges and other citrus fruits, as well as black currants. You can buy collagen supplements with vitamin C here.
Turmeric contains curcumin which is a polyphenol and contributes to the golden color of the root. In Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, turmeric has long been used for its anti-inflammatory properties. However, turmeric not only has an anti-inflammatory effect, but can also act as an antioxidant and capture free radicals.
There is scientific evidence that taking dietary supplements with 1000 mg of turmeric extract (in the form of curcumin) a day for 8-12 weeks can alleviate the symptoms of arthritis. Above all, it was symptoms such as pain and inflammation-related symptoms that the turmeric extract improved in the participants in the studies where the dietary supplement was tested. In addition, studies on curcumin have shown positive effects in people with rheumatism. However, it is important to point out that curcumin has low bioavailability* in the body. However, when curcumin/turmeric is combined with piperine, which is found in black pepper, the bioavailability of curcumin increases.
The use of turmeric is considered safe over a longer period, but side effects in the form of mild nausea and diarrhea have been encountered at high doses of 8–12 g.
*Bioavailability is a term used to describe how large a proportion of a substance enters the systemic circulation in the body, i.e. the blood.
