If you’re like, well, most everyone, you have at least a little bit of joint pain.
Maybe it’s your shoulder, or your knee, or your hips, and maybe the pain comes and goes or maybe it lingers.
Maybe you’ve tried things to sort it out like stretching, resistance training, foam rolling, anti-inflammatories, and natural supplements like glucosamine chondroitin, only to be disappointed.
And now you’re looking for information on yet another supplement that promises to finally soothe your joint pain—collagen.
Can it?
Well, the long story short is yes, it absolutely can.
As with all-natural supplements, some work better for some people than others, but there is good scientific evidence that collagen can indeed reduce joint pain and inflammation and even benefit people with healthy joints.
By the end of this episode, you’re going to know what collagen is, why people supplement with it, how it can improve your joint health, the best kind of collagen to take, and more.
Let’s get to it.
TIME STAMPS
4:26 – What is collagen?
5:26 – Why do people take collagen?
6:05 – What are the benefits of collagen supplements?
8:02 – Why do athletes suffer from joint pains?
10:14 – What are the appropriate doses for collagen?
10:58 – What are the results from taking collagen supplements?
12:57 – Do collagen supplements have any side effects?
Oh and if you like this episode want to be be notified when new episodes go live, then head on over to iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, or Google Play and subscribe.
Lastly, if you want to support the show, please drop a quick review of it over on iTunes. It really helps!
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
+ Scientific References
- Nagler-Anderson, C., Bober, L. A., Robinson, M. E., Siskind, G. W., & Thorbecke, G. J. (1986). Suppression of type II collagen-induced arthritis by intragastric administration of soluble type II collagen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 83(19), 7443–7446. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.83.19.7443
- Mullins, R. J., Richards, C., & Walker, T. (1996). Allergic reactions to oral, surgical and topical bovine collagen. Anaphylactic risk for surgeons. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Ophthalmology, 24(3), 257–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9071.1996.tb01589.x
- Crowley, D. C., Lau, F. C., Sharma, P., Evans, M., Guthrie, N., Bagchi, M., Bagchi, D., Dey, D. K., & Raychaudhuri, S. P. (2009). Safety and efficacy of undenatured type II collagen in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: A clinical trial. International Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(6), 312–321. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijms.6.312
- Barnett, M. L., Kremer, J. M., St. Clair, E. W., Clegg, D. O., Furst, D., Weisman, M., Fletcher, M. J. F., Chasan-Taber, S., Finger, E., Morales, A., Le, C. H., & Trentham, D. E. (1998). Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with oral type II collagen: Results of a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 41(2), 290–297. https://doi.org/10.1002/1529-0131(199802)41:2<290::AID-ART13>3.0.CO;2-R
- Bayrak, Ş., & Mitchison, N. A. (1998). Bystander suppression of murine collagen-induced arthritis by long-term nasal administration of a self type II collagen peptide. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 113(1), 92–95. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2249.1998.00638.x
- Clark, K. L., Sebastianelli, W., Flechsenhar, K. R., Aukermann, D. F., Meza, F., Millard, R. L., Deitch, J. R., Sherbondy, P. S., & Albert, A. (2008). 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 24(5), 1485–1496. https://doi.org/10.1185/030079908X291967
- Lugo, J. P., Saiyed, Z. M., Lau, F. C., Molina, J. P. L., Pakdaman, M. N., Shamie, A. N., & Udani, J. K. (2013). Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II®) for joint support: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10, 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-48
- Hunter, D. J., & Eckstein, F. (2009). Exercise and osteoarthritis. In Journal of Anatomy (Vol. 214, Issue 2, pp. 197–207). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01013.x
- Eckstein, F., Hudelmaier, M., & Putz, R. (2006). The effects of exercise on human articular cartilage. In Journal of Anatomy (Vol. 208, Issue 4, pp. 491–512). J Anat. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00546.x
- Chakravarty, E. F., Hubert, H. B., Lingala, V. B., Zatarain, E., & Fries, J. F. (2008). Long Distance Running and Knee Osteoarthritis. A Prospective Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(2), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.03.032
- Choi, S. Y., Kim, W. G., Ko, E. J., Lee, Y. H., Kim, B. G., Shin, H. J., Choi, Y. S., Ahn, J. Y., Kim, B. J., & Lee, H. J. (2014). Effect of high advanced-collagen tripeptide on wound healing and skin recovery after fractional photothermolysis treatment. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 39(8), 874–880. https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.12405
- Proksch, E., Segger, D., Degwert, J., Schunck, M., Zague, V., & Oesser, S. (2013). Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 27(1), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1159/000351376
- Shoulders, M. D., & Raines, R. T. (2009). Collagen structure and stability. In Annual Review of Biochemistry (Vol. 78, pp. 929–958). NIH Public Access. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.biochem.77.032207.120833
- Zdzieblik, D., Oesser, S., Baumstark, M. W., Gollhofer, A., & König, D. (2015). Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men: A randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Nutrition, 114(8), 1237–1245. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114515002810