Glucosamine Gel
Glucosamine is a very popular product among patients with arthritis and glucosamine has therefore turned into a very common addition for various remedies and nutritional supplements. One of the latest additions is the famous glucosamine gel. Glucosamine gel is virtually the same thing as glucosamine cream because they normally contain the same active ingredient – glucosamine. Generally speaking, the difference between a cream and a gel is not a medical issue; it is simply a question of personal preferences. Some users prefer creams, while other users prefer gels.

Glucosamine is the major ingredient in the cartilage of the human body. Cartilage is the dampening cushion between every linked bone in the body. It is quite difficult to say if a glucosamine gel has any effect though, simply due to the fact that glucosamine needs to be absorbed into the body before it can become useful. If you want something to come into your body you normally chose to inject it or swallow it, like you do with medicinal glucosamine. Using glucosamine gel might however make it possible to target specific joints and give them with an extra dose of glucosamine. It may also decrease the risk of experiencing gastro-intestinal side effects of glucosamine.

It should be noted that no studies have yet showed exactly how much glucosamine that enters your body when you use a glucosamine gel, and several studies indicate that the absorption rate may be very low. It is therefore not uncommon among manufacturers of glucosamine gels to list glucosamine as a non-active ingredient, although they make a big thing out of it in their advertisements.

If a glucosamine gel has an apparent effect on your joint pain, it may actually be due to another reason. Menthol and camphor are two common supplemental ingredients in glucosamine gel and since they contain a pain numbing substance it is easy to believe that the gel works even when it does not. This does not mean that glucosamine gel is useless; it simply means that consumers should be aware of this possible source of pain relief. The best way to find out whether your joints are able to absorb glucosamine through the skin and use it to fight arthritis is of course to switch to normal menthol or camphor gel for a while and see if you notice any difference. There are many patients who swear by their glucosamine gel, just as there are many patients who experience no benefits as all.