Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Training/Injury Seminar 21-Jul-2004 At 10:31:19 AM Julian

Message

Hey Ben. Good question. There is little research done on this so it is difficult to give a definitive answer. However, the theory behind glucosamine fairly much dictates that it should be advantageous for tissues of similar make up to cartilage. The biochemistry of it is rather complex (and I really dislike biochem) so I wont go into it here. Suffice to say that tendons and ligaments fall into this category. It basically works by encouraging water and nutrients to enter the tissue. Most of the current research has looked at hyaline cartilage (the shiny surface at the end of many bones; inside the joint). This is what is damaged in osteoarthritis; it basically dries up and cracks. A sponge without water is perhaps a good analogy.

When a tendon is torn, it also needs water and nutrients to heal. Up to a point, the more of it, the faster this will happen. The catch here is that, unlike OA, which is a degenerative condition so does not spontaneously heal, a tendon is likely to heal in a few weeks. And that is about how long GS takes to really start acting. It works by encouraging certain cell populations within the tissue. This takes time.

So to answer your question, for a seriously torn tendon or ligament, I would say there is nothing to lose. If it just a slight strain, I would not bother.

Julian