So confused about MSM, glucosamine & chondroitin

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peanut

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I've Googled them all and still don't understand the difference between them - they all seem to be anti-inflammatory joint supplements. :o

I'm looking for a supplement for bone spavin and suspensory ligament damage and believe I need all three - is that right?

Cortaflex is really expensive but apparently contains all three. Other cheaper brands only seem to contain MSM and glucosamine.

Can anyone help please?
 
There are probably people who can advise you better than me but yes you do need all three, MSM will help with the suspensory as its great for healing soft tissue damage.
There are a few others that have all 3, pretty sure the NAF one does and I use suppleaze aviform gold which i'd happily recommend to any one.
I'm sure a joint supplement boffin will pop up later on :-)
 
Devils Claw has them in. A good one is Blue Chip joint suppl which has rosehip and aloa vera and some other stuff but is quite expensive not as much as cortaflex mind. Glucosamine has MSM and Hyrdro... in it and is not that expensive. Remember now you have the bone spavin it is not going to go away what you have to manage now is the inflammation which would cause the pain, hence the reason why these are all anti inflammatories whilst one works with the other. The idea is to try to stop the continued deterioration of the joint in its tracks, a pretty hard task mind. Omega 3 is also good for joints with the other stuff ofcourse.
 
Devil's claw doesn't have them in. Devil's claw is a separate anti-inflammatory herb - it doesn't contain MSM, glucosamine or chondroitin.

And also MSM, glucosamine and chondroitin are not anti-inflammatories. MSM is bio-available sulphur, one of the building blocks of soft tissues. Glucosamine and Chondroitin are the building blocks for joint cartilage and fluid. Whether any of them actually help is open to debate. It has been recently reported in human literature that gluc/chon are absolutely no use in slowing down joint degeneration. However, we still dont know if the same definitely applies to horses so they're probably still worth a go with the knowledge that you might be throwing money down the drain so dont take out a 2nd mortgage for the all swinging all dancing joint supplement that's meant to cure every disease known to man if you believe the manufacturers.
 
star said:
And also MSM, glucosamine and chondroitin are not anti-inflammatories. MSM is bio-available sulphur, one of the building blocks of soft tissues. Glucosamine and Chondroitin are the building blocks for joint cartilage and fluid.
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Thank you, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

I absolutely agree that the effectiveness of these supplements is not scientifically proven, but when you can't use corticosteroids for spavins because of laminitis, the options are a bit limited and it's worth a try! :)
 
martha said:
I've Googled them all and still don't understand the difference between them - they all seem to be anti-inflammatory joint supplements. :o

I'm looking for a supplement for bone spavin and suspensory ligament damage and believe I need all three - is that right?

Cortaflex is really expensive but apparently contains all three. Other cheaper brands only seem to contain MSM and glucosamine.

Can anyone help please?
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MSM is meant to be very useful in cases of mild bone spavin. Equine America do a 10,000mg glucosamine with MSM added for approx £16.00 a tub, last for about five weeks for a M/W 17.1hh WB.
 
I agree with all that has been said above. Personally (not bone spavin, but..) I have an old lad who has arthritis in all of his legs in one form or another. He has been on Cortaflex for years and I can definitely say it has helped. It really was the difference between him being lame and sound, when the HA jabs were not administered in the right quantity.

However, Comfrey herb has also made a major difference to him. As shown recently when he decided he'd been in long enough and made a break for the field. He has been on it about a month now, with the Cortaflex. Comfrey is also known as "knitbone" and is very useful for mending bones, but is also brilliant for soft tissue / cartilage / connective tissue.
 
martha said:
Thank you, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

I absolutely agree that the effectiveness of these supplements is not scientifically proven, but when you can't use corticosteroids for spavins because of laminitis, the options are a bit limited and it's worth a try! :)
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oh i agree which is why my boy with OCD and cruciate ligament damage has been on devils claw, MSM and glucosamine while the insurance are paying. He'll prob stay on glucosamine even when they stop paying. Figure they cant do any harm so might as well give them a go.
 
One thing worth bearing in mind that you probably wont find advertised anywhere (!) is that this market is completely unregulated, ie, what the manufacturer says is in the pot might not be true. Trading standards are not effective here as manufacturers can blame a "faulty mix" or similar. Recently published trials surrounding human joint supplements mainly focused on high street brands, and many of them struggle to match label claim, to say the least. In fact in an independent study, four of the products tested contained as much as NOUGHT percent of label claim! Ouch!

There are some good products out there, but be careful and you are right to do your research. Pointless spending a lot of money on a product which isn't what it says on the tin! Different forms of the active ingredients may also effect the outcome - its a minefield, and the best ingredients are blimmin expensive and difficult to source.

From a personal point of view, I have used a top end brand on two of my boys now, and I haven't looked back, the one who was on bute has been able to come off it. Another friend of mine got a BSJA pony back from lease in a bad way, after a few months on the same product he's back out jumping and winning, having been prematurely relagated to retirement!

Good luck, I hope your horse improves for you!
 
To star - i am holding a bottle of devils claw in front of me and it says in the contents MSM, as my horse has arthritis and i have done hours of research on the internet (possibly some stories are conflicting) but i definitely recall reading that the products mentioned are anti-inflammatories, but each one works hand in hand with the other. Then again if someone new and could prove that something did actually work they would be a millionaire, each to giving our own little bit of advice in the hope of helping another...........
 
beeswax said:
To star - i am holding a bottle of devils claw in front of me and it says in the contents MSM, as my horse has arthritis and i have done hours of research on the internet (possibly some stories are conflicting) but i definitely recall reading that the products mentioned are anti-inflammatories, but each one works hand in hand with the other. Then again if someone new and could prove that something did actually work they would be a millionaire, each to giving our own little bit of advice in the hope of helping another...........
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Then you have probably got NAF's Devil's Relief or some other compound product. Pure Devil's claw is simply that. Manufacturers are free to add MSM etc as well if they want but pure devil's claw on it's own is a product in it's own right - it doesnt contain MSM. Devil's claw is an anti-inflammatory, MSM isn't. You might have done hours of research on the internet, but I've got an A grade at Chemistry A-level and a vet degree - that's 7yrs of research! The manufacturers may have you believe that they all have anti-inflammatory action but there's no scientific proof of this and manufacturers can say what they like when marketing these products as there's a severe lack of regulation in the market.

The OP was asking for clarification on what each product does - that's what I gave. It's all very well sharing our knowledge but only if it's correct and doesn't confuse people even more.
 
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If you go on to www.riaflex-equine.co.uk, and look under the articles tab, click on equine articles and the "joints and soundness". There is a description of each compound and their differences. The research on each compound is extremely substantial and complex and so any descriptions on the web will be in a simpler form to allow you to understand it easier. If you do have a specific question or want a more complex answer e mail the lady on this website directly. She is extremely knowledgable and very helpful, and it will probably clear a fair few of your questions up from someone who is qualified to answer.
Hope this helps. Good luck
 
It has been recently reported in human literature that gluc/chon are absolutely no use in slowing down joint degeneration. However, we still dont know if the same definitely applies to horses so they're probably still worth a go with the knowledge that you might be throwing money down the drain so dont take out a 2nd mortgage for the all swinging all dancing joint supplement that's meant to cure every disease known to man if you believe the manufacturers.
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Hmmm...got to agree

When my lad had problems with his spavin I fed him the brown liquid at £100 a bottle then white powder at £100 a tub for 2 years - made not a damn bit of difference except to my wallet which looked much slimmer.

The put him on to linseed meal at £25 a bag and that works a treat - has helped him loads.

For myself - I have a spot of artritis in one hip and in my joints in my hands (not good since my other hobby is finger style Jazz guitar!) - I take an Omega 3/6 fish oil supplement called Omacor and that works a treat. The MSM/Glucosamine/Chondroitin didn't do a thing.

All marketing hype imho.
 
It has been recently reported in human literature that gluc/chon are absolutely no use in slowing down joint degeneration. ;.................not quite true, possibly a matter of semantics but substitute the word use for Benefit. It all falls into the castagory of "not proven". To prove a trial in horses is incredibly complicated and expesive. I have my doubts about a lot of pre cursor ingredients but there is still some solid research behind a chondroitin Glucosamine hydrochloride mix. (not the glucosamine sulphate)
 
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