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When I was diagnosed with bone spurs on my spine (so far not clinically significant as far as the spinal cord goes) I put all thoughts of going to a chiropractor out of my mind for good and all. However, sometimes I've let my middle daughter, who has an outstanding talent for this since the age of 4, walk on my back when it has hurt. Guess I won't do that anymore either. No coffee enemas, nothing weird, I promise. I probably will find some of the shark cartilage stuff ;-) if my doctor doesn't feel strongly otherwise--I have arthritis in many joints and I doubt this can hurt...and I will continue taking vitamins. I don't drink or smoke (LDS lifestyle) so all I'm up against is my addiction to food. :-)

One more thing....(sorry I forgot to add this!)

Ask each neurosurgeon (do not use an ortho for this, ever) how many ACDF's or fusions they've performed and their recover rate post surgery. The surgeon I chose had done over 6000 and said the standard success rate was over 90%. Good enough odds for me.

I probably will find some of the shark cartilage stuff ;-) if my doctor doesn't feel strongly otherwise--I have arthritis in many joints and I doubt this can hurt.

Prog Drug Res 2000;55:81-103

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfates in the treatment of osteoarthritis: a survey.

de los Reyes GC, Koda RT, Lien EJ.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
School of Pharmacy,
University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, CA
90089, USA.

For more than 30 years, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been used as standards in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Serious and often life-threatening adverse effects due to these agents are common. Clinical findings have revealed that glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are effective and safer alternatives to alleviate symptoms of OA. Experimental evidence indicates that these compounds and their low molecular weight derivatives have a particular tropism for cartilage where they serve as substrates in the biosynthesis of component building blocks. This paper is a literature review of the chemistry, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and safety of these two nutraceuticals.

Skip the sharks and go directly to the active ingredients. There are many similar review of chondroitin available through PubMed.