Effect of collagen hydrolysate in articular pain: a 6-month randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study

Bruyère O, Zegels B, Leonori L, Rabenda V, Janssen A, Bourges C, Reginster JY · Complementary Therapies in Medicine

More clinical responders on collagen than placebo at 6 months, where a responder is anyone improving 20% or more on VAS in their most painful joint. Two things to hold alongside that: the dose is 1200 mg/day, roughly an eighth of the 10 g used in the athlete trials, and at 3 months the groups did not differ at all (44.1% vs 39.6%, p=0.53).

Population

Adults aged 50+ with joint pain of at least 30 mm on a VAS at lower or upper limbs or lumbar spine — not knee-osteoarthritis-specific

Intervention

Collagen hydrolysate 1200 mg/day for 6 months

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

A responder dichotomy rather than a continuous pain measure, which inflates apparent effect size and discards information. Mixed joint sites including lumbar spine, so not a cartilage-specific population. Bruyere and Reginster's group has extensive nutraceutical-industry ties. The authors themselves conclude more studies are needed.