Efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane supplementation on osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled study

What this study found

MSM produced small but statistically significant improvements in some knee osteoarthritis outcomes versus placebo over 12 weeks. Physical function improved by 17% with MSM versus 15% worsening with placebo, for a between-group difference of 14.6 mm (95% CI 4.3 to 25.0; p = 0.04), and total symptoms improved by 20% versus 14% worsening, for a difference of 15.0 mm (95% CI 5.1 to 24.9; p = 0.03). Pain on the visual analogue scale also favored MSM, with a 0.7 cm between-group difference (95% CI -0.9 to 2.4; p = 0.05). Other measures were less certain or not significant, including ALF (p = 0.09)…

Study & population

Randomized, placebo-controlled trial in adults with symptomatic, radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis.

Intervention

Purified methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) was given orally as 1.125 g tablets three times daily with food for 12 weeks, for a total daily dose of 3.375 g.

Key limitation

The trial was small, with only 25 participants in the MSM arm, and lasted only 12 weeks.

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