"How Joint Doctor helped me beat arthritis"


When long-distance runner Annie Conroy learned that the cartilage in her arthritic knee had virtually worn away, she thought she would have to hang up her running shoes.

Her orthopaedic surgeon told her she was in so much pain because there was little cartilage left. But he gave her hope by recommending Joint Doctor collagen Complex® .

Until recently, collagen has mainly figured as a skin treatment for removing the lines of ageing, but there is growing evidence that it can stimulate the growth of new cartilage in joints.

'It was virtually bone on bone, and I was told I might need a knee replacement operation in a few years if things got worse', says Annie, 'I'd already torn one knee cartilage and recovered, and this setback seemed the final blow.

'The consultant performed a keyhole operation to clean up the debris that had accumulated in my joint and then suggested I took a collagen pill to see if it would help.

'It was a case of try the pills or face being in pain and discomfort until I got the chance of a new knee. The anti-inflammatory drugs I had been taking hadn't really worked.'


Annie, a 55 year old retired teacher from Cardiff, started taking Joint Doctor collagen Complex® and found that after three months the pain faded away. She is running again and has not looked back.

'I was amazed, because this wasn't a drug, and I thought it quite unusual for a hospital doctor to be recommending an alternative treatment', she says.

'I train about 35 miles a week and have recently recorded personal bests in road and cross-country races. I don't think I would have achieved those successes without the supplements.'

The claim that collagen can stimulate the growth of new cartilage in joints is borne out by recent medical studies which say that patients with arthritic or damaged joints showed improvement in mobility and pain relief when taking the supplement.

A laboratory study has also shown that Joint Doctor Collagen Complex® can stimulate the growth of new cartilage tissue.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body at about 33 per cent. It is present in bones, joints, muscle and other connective tissue. Scientists believe that in some people, particularly the elderly, its production slows down or stops.

Supplements seem to perform the same role as natural collagen in keeping the tissue in joints healthy and supple.

Dr Stefan Oesser at Kiel University in Germany, published research which demonstrated that by adding collagen to cartilage tissue, it was possible to encourage extra cells to grow.

'This is the first time anyone has demonstrated that collagen has this effect on cartilage and backs up anecdotal evidence and patient trials,' he says.
'We are still trying to unravel why collagen works this way. That might be difficult to establish because there is a series of complex interactions. But we have at last established that it happens.'

Research two years ago by Roland Moskowitz, a professor of orthopaedics at Case Western University in America, looked at 400 patients with arthritic knees from the U.S., Britain and Germany. Some got a placebo while others were treated with collagen.

The latter group showed significant reduction in pain and an improvement in joint mobility, with 93 per cent achieving positive results, some after only two weeks.
Dr Oesser, a physiologist, says further research due to be published later this year will add to the growing evidence that collagen is effective in damaged joints.

Meanwhile, Annie Conroy is convinced that Joint Doctor collagen Complex® helped her knee. 'I shall be taking them every day for the rest of my life,' she says. 'I was quite depressed at the thought of having to hang up my running shoes, but now that won't be necessary.'

Chris Wilson, an orthopaedic consultant in Cardiff, says Joint Doctor collagen Complex® , appears to work.

'I have always had an open mind about alternative treatments,' he says. 'If a patient says she has pain relief and movement after taking collagen, I am perfectly prepared to believe it works.

'With arthritic pain, I don't think mainstream medicine has all the answers, and I would encourage patients to try treatments such as Joint Doctor collagen Complex® which also contains glucosamine.'

Heike Drechsler, Long jump Olympic and World Champion

"Top athletes who want to maintain and even improve their level of performance should never lose sight of certain things: health, fitness and diet. You have to be sure to eat properly all the time. My recipe for success is my training program coupled with a balanced diet, a positive attitude and my fighting spirit. I eat only healthy foods. As a high performance athlete, for example, I consider Joint Doctor collagen Complex® to be an indispensable source of nutrition..."

Joint Doctor collagen Complex® contains high concentrations of an easily digested nutritional protein that the body can make good use of. It contains nine of the ten essential amino acids, which are vital to our health. Being a fat, cholesterol and carbohydrate free food, collagen is a well-rounded source of nutrition.

"...two factors are especially important for me as an athlete: Joint Doctor collagen Complex® is very beneficial in combating joint ailments and the natural wear and tear on joint cartilage. Sport can be very hard on joints and with athletes exposing their joints to high levels of stress they need a special protein. Joint Doctor collagen Complex® meets this need. This natural food also has a second, welcome effect: it gives me firmer, smoother skin, radiant hair and stronger fingernails."

Heike Drechsler, Long jump Olympic and World Champion.