4 minutes of reading- New research suggests that taking a fiber supplement could ease knee pain.
- The benefits are slight, but noticeable.
- Fiber should not replace existing treatments, doctors say.
Osteoarthritis of the knee can be a debilitating condition due to the joint pain, stiffness and swelling it causes. Unfortunately, this is a reality for an estimate 14 million Americans. There are a range of potential treatment options that may help, including cortisone injections and GLP-1, but a new study suggests a more accessible option might also help: taking a fiber supplement.
Research from a recent clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients suggests that adding a daily fiber supplement could ease knee osteoarthritis pain, strengthen your muscles, and perhaps even make you feel less severe pain.
THE Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends consuming 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed, meaning most women should aim for 25 grams of fiber per day, while men should aim to consume 38 grams each day. But the average American only eats about 17 grams of fiber per day, suggesting that many of us are constantly deficient in this important nutrient.
Experts don’t say you should take a fiber supplement instead of physical therapy or seeing a specialist for knee pain. But if you’re doing everything else right, it might be worth trying to add a fiber supplement to your routine. Here’s why.
Meet the experts: Afroditi Kourakilead author of the study and researcher at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine; Will Harvey, MDrheumatologist at Tufts Medical Center and president of the American College of Rheumatology; Timothy Gibson, MDorthopedic surgeon and medical director of the MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
What did the study reveal?
For the study, researchers recruited 117 adults with knee osteoarthritis and divided them into four groups. One group took a 20-gram daily inulin supplement (inulin is a natural fiber considered a prebiotic – it’s also commonly found in healthier soda alternatives), another did digitally assisted physical therapy exercises (PSE), the third group did a combination of inulin and physical therapy, and the last group took a placebo.
The researchers found that people in the inulin and PT groups had less knee pain, and that people taking inulin experienced other benefits that did not appear in the physical therapy group, such as better grip strength and less sensitivity to pain. It’s also worth noting that those who took inulin were more likely to stick with the prescribed treatment, compared to the 21% of people in the physiotherapy-only group who discontinued it.
“Previous studies have linked certain gut bacteria, such as Streptococcus, to worsened knee pain,” says Afroditi Kourakilead author of the study and researcher at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine. This, along with feedback from people with knee arthritis who said they wanted dietary ways to manage their pain, led Kouraki and his team to study inulin.
Why might fiber help with knee pain?
The researchers did not study Why behind this association, but experts have a few theories. “Good gut bacteria feed on fiber like inulin and, in doing so, produce substances that calm inflammation and help keep the intestinal lining healthy,” says Kouraki. Your gut “talks” to your brain and nerves, and this can influence your sensitivity to pain, she explains.
Kouraki points out that people in the study who took inulin also had higher levels of the gut hormone GLP-1 (yes, that GLP-1), which is also linked to pain regulation, and that those with greater increases in GLP-1 tend to have greater adherence. “These clues are early and we need further research to understand exactly what is happening,” she says.
But it is important to put the results in context. “Exercise did even more to improve the ability to walk and get up from a chair, which is important for patients,” says Timothy Gibson, MDorthopedic surgeon and medical director of the MemorialCare Joint Replacement Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
And while the results suggest benefits to taking an inulin supplement, it’s not a huge difference, points out Will Harvey, MDrheumatologist at Tufts Medical Center and president of the American College of Rheumatology. “At best, further study is warranted,” he says.
Is it better than other joint support supplements?
People concerned about their joints will often take collagen, glucosamine and/or chondroitin. But “there is no solid evidence to support the use of dietary supplements,” says Dr. Harvey.
Kouraki also points out that collagen and glucosamine target the joint itself, while inulin works indirectly through gut bacteria and the body’s immune and hormonal systems. “It’s a different approach, using diet and the gut to help manage symptoms,” she says.
What’s the takeaway?
Knee pain is complicated, and it’s a stretch to say that taking a fiber supplement will make everything better. “It does not replace proven treatments like exercise and physiotherapy, which also worked well in our study,” says Kouraki. “But it suggests that diet might be a useful additional tool.”
If you suffer from knee pain, Dr. Gibson recommends doing the following:
- Don’t ignore proven care. Although fiber is a “nice supplement,” it should be used in conjunction with exercise, physical therapy and your doctor’s care plan — not as an intervention in itself, he says.
- Change your diet and exercise program. “A balanced, high-fiber diet, healthy weight, and regular leg-strengthening exercises remain the proven foundation for knee arthritis,” says Dr. Gibson.
- Look for new developments. A growing body of research suggests that arthritis is a whole-body inflammation problem linked to gut health, says Dr. Gibson. “Fibers and GLP-1 are exciting new angles, but we need longer studies to know if the beneficial effects on pain persist and protect the joint,” he says.
And of course, if you experience pain and it doesn’t improve, talk to your doctor. They should be able to suggest alternative strategies to make you more comfortable.
Carina Hsieh, MPH, is associate editor of Women’s health. She has over a decade of media experience and has covered everything from beauty, fashion, travel, lifestyle, pets and health.
She began her career as an intern in the fashion dressing room at Cosmopolitan where she worked her way up to senior sex and relationships editor. While covering women’s health there, she discovered her passion for health journalism and took a break to earn her master’s degree in public health. After college, she worked as a freelance writer and as the Daily Beast’s first beauty, health, and wellness reporter.
Carina is an alumna of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Public Health. She and her French bulldog, Bao Bao, split their time between Brooklyn and Connecticut. She loves reformer Pilates, running (slowly), and smelling the luxury toiletries in fitness class locker rooms.
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