WHAT IS ARTHRITIS?
Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation of one or more joints, which may occur in your back, neck, hips, knees, shoulders or hands, but it also occurs in your feet and ankles. Arthritis affects people of all ages, not just a disease of elderly people and the condition gradually worsens over time. If left untreated, the pain can be excruciating and will become unbearable that you can no longer walk even on short distances. The disease will cause various degrees of impact on disability and negatively affect the quality of life, resulting in a significant number of physician visits, work disability, and medication use [1]. There are over 100 disorders that typically affect joints, tendons, ligaments, bones and muscles. Two of the most common types of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
COLLAGEN AND ARTHRITIS
Collagen hydrolysate has been scientifically proven to exert beneficial effects on joint health, in addition to skin-enhancing properties. Why collagen hydrolysate? What does it have to do with arthritis?
Cartilage has a very important function within the musculoskeletal system. It acts as a cushion between joints to protect bones from rubbing against each other and also reduce friction in the joint with movement. Articular cartilage is made of fibrous material with no blood or lymph vessels. The functional integrity of articular cartilage is dependent on the maintenance of the extracellular matrix (ECM), a process which is controlled by its main cell type, the chondrocytes [2]. The ECM primarily consists of tissue fluid and also a framework of structural macromolecules comprising collagen (predominantly type II collagen), proteoglycans and non-collagenous proteins [3].
Cartilage has a very important function within the musculoskeletal system. It acts as a cushion between joints to protect bones from rubbing against each other and also reduce friction in the joint with movement. Articular cartilage is made of fibrous material with no blood or lymph vessels. The functional integrity of articular cartilage is dependent on the maintenance of the extracellular matrix (ECM), a process which is controlled by its main cell type, the chondrocytes [2]. The ECM primarily consists of tissue fluid and also a framework of structural macromolecules comprising collagen (predominantly type II collagen), proteoglycans and non-collagenous proteins [3].
