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effects of chondroi n and glucosamine, called "The Glucosamine/Chondroi n Arthri s Interven on Trial (GAIT)." According to reports released by the Na onal Center for Complementary and Integra ve Health, GAIT is the first large-scale, mul center clinical trial in the U.S. to test the effects of the dietary supplements glucosamine hydrochloride (glucosamine) and sodium chondroi n sulfate (chondroi n sulfate) for the treatment of knee osteoarthri s. • The GAIT study compared the effects of glucosamine and chondroi n sulfate (used separately and also in combina on) to effects of a placebo and also a prescrip on drug. • 16 rheumatology research centers across the U.S. and over 1,500 pa ents par cipated in the study, which lasted six months. • Pa ents received one of five treatments over the course of six months, including the use of glucosamine and chondroi n, celecoxib (a popular prescrip on drug used for managing osteoarthri s pain) or a placebo. A posi ve response to any treatment was defined as a 20 percent or greater reduc on in pain a er six months compared to the start of the study. • Results of the GAIT study showed that for par cipants with moderate to severe pain, glucosamine combined with chondroi n sulfate provided sta s cally significant pain relief compared with the placebo — about 79 percent had a 20 percent or greater reduc on in pain versus about 54 percent for placebo group. • Chondroi n and glucosamine actually worked for more people than the prescrip on did — 70 percent of par cipants in the celecoxib group experienced pain relief compared to placebo. • However, for par cipants in the mild pain subset, glucosamine and chondroi n sulfate seemed to do less to reduce their pain. These par cipants on average didn't experience sta s cally significant pain relief like those with more severe pain did. 2. Helps with Injury and Exercise Recovery Even for people without osteoarthri s, there's evidence sugges ng that chondroi n used with glucosamine helps preserve valuable car lage, decreases pain, increases physical func on and enhances self- care ac vi es. It can reduce joint stress following exercise or injury by helping the body synthesize new car lage, keeping joints flexible and controlling the body's natural inflammatory responses. 3. Improves Wound Healing and Skin Health Chondroi n and glucosamine are also used together to help heal wounds, skin-related defects, and inflamma on of the skin and even in veterinary medicine. Chondroi n can help the body produce collagen, which is essen al for skin health, healing and figh ng the effects of aging on the skin. It's an important structural component of car lage and one of the key substances that allows joints to withstand pressure. Abby's Magazine -Volume 5 Issue 3 | Page 31