Low back pain may not seem like a big deal at first. But when it lingers for months or years, it can have a negative impact on your quality of life. For example, low back pain can make it hard to sit still at work, tackle chores around the house, and even sleep at night. If you’ve haven’t had much luck with traditional medical treatments for low back pain, you may think you’re destined to suffer from it forever. But the truth is that there’s something else you can try: glucosamine chondroitin. Keep reading below to learn how glucosamine chondroitin can decrease low back pain.
What is glucosamine chondroitin?
Glucosamine and chondroitin are both substances that are present in your body naturally. An amino sugar, glucosamine is found in cartilage cells and connective tissue. Chondroitin, on the other hand, is a complex carbohydrate. It helps cartilage retain water.
To optimize their impact, glucosamine and chondroitin are often combined in health supplements. As a result, supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin are often labelled as “glucosamine chondroitin.”
Glucosamine chondroitin decreases low back pain in 3 key ways
1. Reduces pain
Glucosamine chondroitin decreases low back pain by offering relief from the pain itself. For example, when scientists conducted a systematic review of research studies, they discovered that when people with low back pain took glucosamine chondroitin supplements, they reported less pain. As a result, science suggests that glucosamine chondroitin decreases low back pain by reducing the chronic pain it produces.
2. Relieves inflammation
Inflammation contributes to low back pain. That’s why a key step in decreasing low back pain is to decrease inflammation in the back. In a study with 217 participants, scientists examined the link between how often people supplemented their diet with glucosamine chondroitin and how much inflammation they had in their bodies. The results showed that people who consumed more glucosamine chondroitin had lower inflammation levels.