Knee strengthening and injury protection

Call me a skeptic but the scientific evidence is that Glucosamine , in the normal dosed commonly ingested has no more effect than a placebo. I  have many friends that say different and take the stuff and my own wife takes many vitamins and supplements every day( much to my disapproval). I think the current supplement craze in Merika is more due to marketing and business than actual scientific results and in the long run could be more harmful than good.
YMMV but at least research the scientific results rather than anecdotal evidence which by it's very nature is biased.
See here.
www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/d...osamine-really-work/

That is interesting because I have read reports in the primary scientific literature documenting beneficial effects of glucosamine and chondroitin.  A big problem is poorly conceived and poorly conducted studies.  For example a recent study that got big press "showed no effects of glucosamine."  I looked the study up in a journal to see that they actually did.  What they actually did is randomly select a bunch of sedentary old folks in a hospital and had them subjectively rate their knee pain.  Then they randomly assigned some to a glucosamine regimen and others to a placebo.  At the end of the study, there was no difference among the patients with self-rated "mild" knee pain--thus the conclusion that glucosamine didn't work with the disclaimer they didn't have enough subjects in the moderate to severe knee pain category to do a test.

The article you describe quotes a journal article that was a meta-analysis (a statistical analysis of a large number of studies on the issue with respect to osteoarthritis):  “Overall, the evidence supports the use of glucosamine sulfate for modestly reducing osteoarthritis symptoms and possibly slowing disease progression.”  But the author prefers the reference that states published studies are more likely to be false than true!  So much for medical studies--so what can one base an opinion on?

I have yet to see a study that compared the use of glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin with a placebo on generally healthy athletes in a regimen of physical training/therapy and NSAIDS use when necessary conducted on athletes who stress joints and other tissues and actively strive to stay healthy.

One article that I found impressive documented increased lubrication in knee joints with glucosamine sulfate.  A major correlate of arthritis in knees (and other joints) and knee injury is joint dryness (it is important to stay well hydrated by that is not enough).  This article, then, shows one mechanism of how GS can be useful in maintaining knee health and is more compelling than poorly conducted clinical trials or articles that simply dismiss medical science.

Hammer Nutrition has a product called Tissue Rejuvenator that includes glucosamine sulfate, chondroiton sulfate, MSM, and 5 herbal anti-inflammatories that affect different pathways of inflammation  (they provide refereed journal citations that support the action of all of these).  They recommend this product to endurance athletes who tend to suffer from joint pain and arthritis.  They suggest that TR can reduce the need for NSAIDS.  I take TR because my physician said he wanted me on anti-inflammatories all the time for my degenerative disc disease.  Combining PT, exercise, stretching, core muscle development, spinal stabilization techniques, and TR I have eliminated the need for taking NSAIDS for my back. I did not repeat my personal experience using a placebo instead of glucosamine.  I did suffer an overuse injury to my knee (3 torn muscles) so TR obviously does not protect everyone from stupidity.

I have shown some of HN documentation to my daughter-in-law nutritionist and she says it is well done.  So if one is contemplating dietary supplement for athletic endeavors, I suggest checking out Hammer Nutrition's documentation and see if it seems compelling enough to spend some pretty big bucks on some of their supplements. Don't take my personal testimonial because my situation maybe markedly different from that of someone else; my results may be a fluke or not even related to supplements even if I don't believe that--I do believe case histories are not reliable predictors of population responses. But still, here is an anecdote that has no value: a veterinary surgeon told me he saw marked difference in joints of older dogs on regimens of glucosamine vs. those not on glucosamine--the glucosamine joints looked "healthier and younger"--but what the heck was he doing cutting open healthy joints?

^^^^ Now that's what I call research...Kudos!
There are so many conflicting medial reports and studies these days and I know I personally find it confusing. One minute you'll hear that taking so and so will help something and then you hear a report that it won't or that it has no measurable effect. See some of the recent controversy and confusion over satins.

When I see all the supplements and vitamins my wife takes every day I just shake my head and think most of it a waste of money as I've always personally believed that taking as little medicine or pills of any form is the way to go and that many doctors push unnecessary medicine onto their patients.
Not to do harm but because their patients expect a "result" and that many doctors are part of the Health Care Industrial Complex created by the Pharma and insurance corporations. (Tinfoil hat time).

However that's me and if YOU believe they help, then that's what's important as the benefits from the well being created by your belief is positive and may actually be creating the improvement.

I'm thinking maybe Fat skis are a placebo

However that's me and if YOU believe they help, then that's what's important as the benefits from the well being created by your belief is positive and may actually be creating the improvement.

I'm thinking maybe Fat skis are a placebo

You're finally beginning to understand. Good.

I had a torn miniscus. When I asked the orthopedic surgeon how to help it recover he said "there is 3 things you can do to get your knee healthy. Ride your bike, ride your bike and ride your bike" So I started putting in about 60 miles a week on my road bike. Simplistic I know but I know it worked for me. There is just something swell about the gentle love of a smooth cadence. Make sure your seat height is right...and your Q and just start spinning.

I had a torn miniscus.  When I asked the orthopedic surgeon how to help it recover he said "there is 3 things you can do to get your knee healthy. Ride your bike, ride your bike and ride your bike"  So I started putting in about 60 miles a week on my road bike.  Simplistic I know but I know it worked for me.  There is just something swell about the gentle love of a smooth cadence.  Make sure your seat height is right...and your Q and just start spinning.

And for a discussion of Q see Kneesavers ; I can't endorse these, but I ordered a pair and there are pedals alledgedly designed to help solve knee problems like Speedplay (I have a pair of these coming as well).  Biomechanics are as important in biking as in running and skiing, a problem area is the vastus medialus obliquus , which I am still rehabbing after my overuse knee injury that resulted from bc skiing, climbing with crampons, bicycling to Paradise, and speed hiking the High Skyline Trail (LOL)--I ended up putting minor tears in 3 of my knee muscles after stressing them, doing stretches, and then in 1 tai chi exercise they popped. VMO strenghtening
Avoid being knee dominant in your movements.