Chondroitin effective for osteoarthritis

Chondroitin (alone or in combination with glucosamine) was better than placebo in improving pain in participants with OA in short-term studies (< six months). The benefit was small to moderate, with an eight point greater improvement in pain (range 0 to 100; NNT* 5) and a two point greater improvement in Lequesne Index, a combination of pain, physical function and disability (range 0 to 24), both seeming clinically meaningful. Chondroitin had a lower risk of serious adverse events compared with control. There was also a statistically significant lesser reduction in minimal joint space width with chondroitin compared to placebo, based on moderate to high quality evidence.
*NNT = number needed to treat to benefit one individual.