Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

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disentangled
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by disentangled »

TomPierce wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:37 am What I doubt works very well is the targeted supplementation for a single, specific problem; that's the stuff of magazine articles often funded by the companies that sell the supplements (e.g. "Have hair loss? Take X!") But yeah, the placebo effect is super powerful and unless you go crazy they shouldn't harm you.
I agree to not fall into the fallacy that Vitamin X cures Problem Y. However.... I do argue for a targeted supplement for a specific deficiency that is contributing to (but not causing) a specific problem. As I said above, I found that magnesium worked for nerve damage but I found it also helped with joints as well. And as you note, all of this goes along with a wholistic approach to well-being.
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mtree
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by mtree »

I've taken various supplements over the years depending on how I'm feeling. Glucosamine, Mg, K, Ca, Vit D, CoQ, Emergen-C, "real" electrolytes, and many others. Luckily I don't have any joint issues so perhaps I'm a poor example. Well, I'm a poor example, regardless. Looking back I'd say they neither helped or hurt so do whatever you think will help. Even if there's a placebo affect that's a positive outcome!

Otherwise, smoke more weed. At a minimum you won't care anymore.

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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by spoony »

I have no strong feelings on supplements, but my hospital pharmacist wife is always complaining about patients who take supplements without medical advice for two big reasons:

1) Supplements mess with your uptake of prescription meds. In emergency situations, this can be life threatening because some supplements do not play well with emergency treatments. Hospital people might know you're on blood thinners by looking at your history, but they will not know you are taking Fat Buster XL unless you are awake and in the right state of mind to tell them. Also, if you're on a prescription med, talk to your doc before starting a supplement since your dosage may need to be adjusted.

2) Many supplements are not very accurate/precise with their contents and manufacturing tolerances for supplements are notoriously poor. The bottle might say 400 mg "X", but the lot of pills in your bottle might be more like 350 mg or 425 mg or whatever.
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SkaredShtles
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by SkaredShtles »

Beer.
ker0uac
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by ker0uac »

spoony wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:31 pm The bottle might say 400 mg "X", but the lot of pills in your bottle might be more like 350 mg or 425 mg or whatever.
That's definitely true for my edibles
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by mtree »

SkaredShtles wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:39 pmBeer.
Can't argue with that one.
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disentangled
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by disentangled »

spoony wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:31 pm Many supplements are not very accurate/precise with their contents and manufacturing tolerances for supplements are notoriously poor. The bottle might say 400 mg "X", but the lot of pills in your bottle might be more like 350 mg or 425 mg or whatever.
Yes, but supplements are not medications so it doesn't matter if you take a little too much today and nothing tomorrow. Being educated about taking them isn't very difficult and staying in the range of safe dosage isn't rocket science.

Sorry to be tiresome... but obviously I think a lot about this topic. lol
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by Altitude High »

GregMiller wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:43 pm
Altitude High wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:41 pm (Don't get suckered into the kind with chondroitin.)
Just curious, why?
Chondroitin does nothing, except double the price.
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by ker0uac »

Altitude High wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 5:06 pm
GregMiller wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:43 pm
Altitude High wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:41 pm (Don't get suckered into the kind with chondroitin.)
Just curious, why?
Chondroitin does nothing, except double the price.
What brand for glucosamine do you buy?
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Altitude High
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by Altitude High »

Spring Valley (Walmart) Glucosamine Sulfate Potassium Chloride 1,000 mg.
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by susanjoypaul »

I'd say check with your doctor first, but I'll tell you what I do - take it or leave it.

1 - Stationary bike on the highest resistance for 20 minutes a day - ten minutes pedaling forward and ten pedaling backwards. This strengthens my knees.

2 - (Don't laugh) 10 minutes of squats a day on a DB Method machine (yes, the butt machine), which is an angled squat machine with a seat that shifts your weight back onto your glutes. This takes the weight off your knees and lets your hips and glutes do the work, and the high volume that's possible strengthens your hips. If I tried to do ten straight minutes of traditional squats, my knees would throw a fit, but using the machine takes away that limitation. You can add a weight belt for more resistance. I also do traditional squats with dumbbells as part of my weightlifting routine, but in lower volume - just three sets of 12 reps. I used to do super-heavy squats on a rack back in the day when I was a gym rat (over 400 pounds when I trained with Mr. Southern California, Paul Harris, back in the 1980s), but no time for that these days.

3 - Vegan dietary hyaluronic acid supplements - 100 mg a day. Chondroiton and my stomach do not get along, but hyaluronic acid doesn't bother me at all.

I used to dread the day after a big hike, not because of the muscle soreness (I tend to recover very quickly) but the hip pain. I don't know if it's the bike, the squats, or the supplements, but something has solved that problem for me. Maybe the combination of all three.

Good luck.
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Re: Supplements for Musculoskeletal Health?

Post by nunns »

habaceeba wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:54 am
justiner wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 12:16 am I supplement with ankle, hip, and back mobility work. Motion is Lotion!
I like this advice. I make sure not to skip leg day and squats and deadlifts have helped a lot. I notice my knees start hurting when I *don't* exercise them. And, squats don't have to be super heavy powerlifting moves either. You would notice a difference with just body weight or 'goblet squats' with dumbbells.
+1. Strong glutes are associated with less knee pain. It has something to do with the IT band. Also, a strong vastus medialis (that muscle right above your knee) is associated with less knee pain. Leg extensions can help this, but unfortunately people with weak vm get pain when doing leg extensions, a classic catch-22. Squats will help the vm also, but not as much as leg extensions.

Remember what Tim Noakes says in "Lore of Running": the #1 ergogenic aid of all time is physical training.

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