Fixing Your Knees - Glucosamine & Chondroitin - Miracle Drugs?
Submitted by Khadaji on Wed, 04/26/2006 - 12:00
Like many old-timers in Judo, I have bad knees. Too many injuries and dislocations over the years. A few years ago, my right knee was so bad that most left-sided techniques were simply out of the question - despite the fact that for most of my competition career, I was a ‘lefty’. (For although I’m right-handed, I discovered that many Judoka can’t handle left-sided Judo)
But I started taking Glucosamine and Chondroitin as a regular part of my vitamins that I take, and in a matter of about 8 weeks, the difference was distinctly noticeable. Here, a year later, my knees feel normal, and doing a left-sided Haraigoshi rarely bothers me. A technique virtually impossible for me last year.
I’m not going to recommend dosage levels, or specific brands… I’m not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be. I do however, want to pass on this anecdotal evidence, so if you suffer from joint problems due to your Judo training, you might possibly find relief the way I did.
As far as general vitamin usage - I’m a firm believer that everyone should be taking a multi-vitamin every day. I’m by no means a ‘health-nut’, but do the research yourself, and make your own decision. I take the following each day:
One tablet each of:
General multivitamin
B-complex multivitamin
1000 mg of Vitamin C
50 mg DHEA
And of course, Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
Anyone else have Glucosamine stories?
