A Dietary Supplement in the Management of Patients with Lumbar Osteochondrosis: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study

• Published in: Nutrients 2024-08, Vol.16 (16), p.2695
• Main Authors: Laky, Brenda, Huemer, Daniel, Eigenschink, Martin, Sagl, Benedikt, Thell, Rainer, Wagner, Karl-Heinz, Anderl, Werner, Heuberer, Philipp R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arthritis; Back pain; bamboo extract; Cartilage; Clinical medicine; Collagen; collagen type II; Connective tissue; Dietary Supplements; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Hyaluronic acid; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration; Knee; lower back pain; Lumbar Vertebrae - diagnostic imaging; magnetic resonance images (MRI); Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; n-acetyl-glucosamine; Natural products; Orthopedics; Osteoarthritis; Osteochondrosis - drug therapy; Osteochondrosis - therapy; Pain Measurement; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Spinal Osteochondrosis - drug therapy; Spinal Osteochondrosis - therapy; Treatment Outcome; Vitamin C
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16162695

Various nutritional supplements are available over the counter, yet few have been investigated in randomized controlled trials. The rationale for using the specific mix of nutritional substances including collagen type II, hyaluronic acid, n-acetyl-glucosamine, bamboo extract, L-lysine, and vitamin C is the assumption that combining naturally occurring ingredients of the intervertebral disc would maintain spine function. This double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a nutraceutical supplement mix in the management of lumbar osteochondrosis. Fifty patients were randomly assigned to either the supplement or placebo group in a 1:1 ratio. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) included the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the visual analogue scale for pain (pVAS), short form-12 (SF-12) physical and mental component summary subscale scores (PCS and MCS, respectively), and global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate degenerative changes of intervertebral discs (IVD) including Pfirrmann grades as well as three-dimensional (3D) volume measurements. Data were collected at baseline and after the 3-month intervention. None of the PROMs were significantly different between the supplement and placebo groups. Disc degeneration according to Pfirrmann classifications remained stable during the 3-month intervention in both groups. Despite no significance regarding the distribution of Pfirrmann grade changes (improvement, no change, worsening; = 0.259), in the supplement group, one patient achieved a three-grade improvement, and worsening of Pfirrmann grades were only detected in the placebo group (9.1%). Furthermore, in-depth evaluations of MRIs showed significantly higher 3D-measured volume changes (increase) in the supplement (+740.3 ± 796.1 mm ) compared to lower 3D-measured volume changes (decrease) in the placebo group (-417.2 ± 875.0 mm ; < 0.001). In conclusion, this multi-nutrient supplement might not only stabilize the progression of lumbar osteochondrosis, but it might also potentially even increase IVD volumes as detected on MRIs.