Condition
Knee osteoarthritis
Gradual wear of the knee’s cartilage causing pain, stiffness and reduced function — the most common joint affected by osteoarthritis.
See a clinician
Some causes of knee osteoarthritis need medical care, not self-treatment. Seek help for any of these:
- Hot, red, swollen joint with fever or chills
- Sudden severe pain or inability to bear weight
- The knee locks or gives way
- Rapid large swelling after an injury
- Calf swelling or redness (to rule out a clot)
What may help
Remedies studied for knee osteoarthritis, ranked by strength of evidence.
- B Boswellia serrata herb
Reduces knee OA pain and stiffness and improves function vs placebo over four weeks or more.
- B Comfrey (topical) herb
Topical comfrey ointment markedly reduced knee OA pain versus placebo in randomized trials.
- B Capsaicin (topical) chemical
Applied to the skin, reduces OA joint pain vs placebo — at the cost of frequent transient burning at the site.
- B Chondroitin sulfate supplement
A small-to-moderate short-term improvement in OA pain vs placebo; effect on joint structure is minimal and most trials are low quality.
- B Collagen peptides supplement
Oral collagen peptides modestly reduce knee OA pain and improve joint function over about 3–6 months vs placebo.
- B Ginger herb
Modestly reduces OA pain and disability vs placebo, though some people stop because of GI upset.
- B Turmeric (curcumin extract) herb
Reduces knee OA pain and improves function more than placebo, roughly comparable to NSAIDs with fewer GI effects over short-term use.
- C Glucosamine sulfate supplement
Mixed and brand-dependent: patented crystalline glucosamine sulfate may modestly help pain and function, but other preparations show no clear benefit over placebo.
- — SAM-e supplement
Some small trials suggest pain relief comparable to NSAIDs, but the evidence is too low-quality to confirm a benefit.
Osteoarthritis is wear and tear of joint cartilage. First-line care is exercise, weight management and physical therapy. Several supplements have modest, well-studied effects on symptoms — they ease pain but do not regrow cartilage.