 [ Symptoms ] what nutritional supplements can be used to treat osteoarthritis [ Disease ] several nutritional supplements are used to relieve arthritis pain a couple of the most promising are glucosamine and chondroitin these are the building blocks of cartilage    the smooth covering that cushion joints    so people often take these supplements for arthritis pain relief do they work it is debatable while researchers are still studying whether they help rebuild cartilage some studies have shown that they have helped relieve knee osteoarthritis pain and stiffness for some people a multi center federally funded study found that when taken together they were most helpful for people with moderate to severe oa osteoarthritis pain another study found that a 1 500 mg daily dose of glucosamine relieved knee oa pain significantly more than a 3 000 mg daily dose of acetaminophen tylenol or placebo but other studies have found that they did not reduce pain if you decide to try glucosamine and chondroitin talk to your doctor about dosing and beware of taking glucosamine if you have fish allergies because it is most often made from shellfish chondroitin is made from shark or pork cartilage or made in a lab omega 3 fatty acids you can get these “good fats” by eating cold water fish such as salmon or by taking fish oil capsules these healthy fats have been shown to reduce joint pain and inflammation in people with arthritis