Glucosamine and joints
What 5 graded rows on glucosamine agree on for joints, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Glucosamine page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Glucosamine page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Glucosamine and joints
5 rows · 6,532 peopleMostly no difference: 4 of 5 rows, and most of the people. 1 found an improvement.
- CGrade C× 1
- ∅No effect× 4
- Rows
- 5
- Trials
- 14
- People
- 6,532
- Pooled reviews may count some twice
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade C, is a randomized trial of 319 people (2004) and found an improvement. 4 rows are graded No effect, our grade for adequately powered trials that found no effect.
The 4 rows that found no difference were larger: a median of 1,094 people, against 319 people for the row that found an improvement.
Only the 4 rows that found no difference include pooled reviews of several trials (1 of 4); the row that found an improvement is a single study.
Only the row that found an improvement names women in its population.
The 4 rows that found no difference are newer (2006 to 2015) than the row that found an improvement (2004).
The rows
1 improved · 4 no difference- ∅No effectJoint pain and joint-space narrowing · No difference
Meta-analysis, 10 studies · n 3,803 · 2010 · People with knee or hip osteoarthritis in 10 large trials
Varied across trials · Varied across trials
Compared with placebo, effects on pain and joint-space narrowing were below clinically relevant thresholds; industry-independent trials showed smaller effects.
Row on the Glucosamine page · PubMed 20847017 (opens PubMed)
- ∅No effectKnee osteoarthritis pain (20% reduction) · No difference
RCT · n 1,583 · 2006 · Adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis
1,500 mg/day glucosamine; 1,200 mg/day chondroitin · 24 weeks
Glucosamine and chondroitin, alone or together, were not significantly better than placebo for knee pain overall.
Row on the Glucosamine page · PubMed 16495392 (opens PubMed)
- ∅No effectKnee joint-space narrowing and pain over 2 years · No difference
RCT · n 605 · 2015 · Adults aged 45–75 with chronic knee pain and medial joint-space narrowing (Australia)
1,500 mg/day glucosamine sulfate; 800 mg/day chondroitin sulfate · 2 years
Glucosamine alone did not slow joint-space narrowing, and no group had less knee pain than placebo. The combination slowed narrowing by 0.10 mm over 2 years (p = 0.046).
Row on the Glucosamine page · PubMed 24395557 (opens PubMed)
- ∅No effectHip osteoarthritis pain, function and joint-space narrowing · No difference
RCT · n 222 · 2008 · Primary-care patients with hip osteoarthritis (Netherlands)
1,500 mg once daily · 2 years
WOMAC pain (mean difference −1.54), function and joint-space narrowing after 24 months did not differ from placebo.
Row on the Glucosamine page · PubMed 18283204 (opens PubMed)
- CGrade CKnee joint-space narrowing in postmenopausal women · Improved
RCT · n 319 · 2004 · Postmenopausal women with knee osteoarthritis from two 3-year placebo-controlled trials (414 randomised)
Not stated in the abstract · 3 years
No joint-space narrowing with glucosamine sulfate (+0.003 mm) versus −0.33 mm on placebo; WOMAC scores improved by 14.1% versus a trend to worsening on placebo.
Row on the Glucosamine page · PubMed 15021442 (opens PubMed)