A new study on glucosamine (which has had mixed results for the treatment of joint osteoarthritis) shows that the supplement has no effect on low back pain with degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis. The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study appeared in JAMA this week.
Conducted in Oslo, Norway, the study enrolled 250 patients older than 25 years of age with chronic low back pain (>6 months) and degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis. Patients were randomized to receive either 1500 mg of oral glucosamine (n = 125) or placebo (n = 125) for six months, and outcomes were assessed at six months and one year using the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire. At no point during follow-up did the authors observe a statistically significant difference in pain-related disability between patients receiving glucosamine and those receiving placebo.
Some estimates have shown that up to 80% of adults will be affected by low back pain at some point in their lives, a third of whom could develop chronic pain.
