Tendons and ligaments are soft tissues made up of collagen and elastin. Ligaments connect bones to each other, and tendons connect muscles to bones. Each plays a role in musculoskeletal biomechanics and helps to stabilize your joints and muscles during movement. Extreme flexion or extension, repetitive motions, disease or injury can damage your tendons and ligaments, resulting in joint instability and impaired movement. Vitamins can help strengthen these collagenous tissues and reduce your injury potential.
Glucosamine
Glucoasamine is a naturally occurring compound found in healthy cartilage. Glucosamine sulfate, according to MayoClinic.com, is a normal constituent of glycoaminoglycans in synovial fluid and cartilage matrix. This vitamin is used to prevent the loss of cartilage in patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis, especially in the knee. Glucosamine is also used for the treatment of joint pain and swelling in rheumatoid arthritis and leg pain caused by lumbar degenerative disk disease. This vitamin is believed to strengthen and protect cartilage and promote gycosaminoglycan synthesis. Tendons and ligaments are composed of cartilage; this vitamin strengthens and maintains cartilage, thereby reducing your injury potential. To maintain and strengthen your tendons and ligaments via cartilage synthesis, 500 mg of glucosamine is recommended three times a day, according to MayoClinic.com.
Chondroitin
Chondroitin is a naturally occurring molecule found in the body, and is a major component of cartilage, the primary connective tissue in the body. Chondroitin provides the building blocks necessary for the production of the cartilage, and maintains cartilage health by absorbing water molecules into the connective tissue. It blocks enzymes that destroy cartilage and is used for the treatment of osteoarthritis, a degenerative disorder that results in the breakdown and gradually loss of cartilage. Chondroitin is beneficial to tendons and ligaments, both of which are composed of cartilage. Additionally, the increased water content that chondroitin absorbs prevents stiffness and rigidity in tendons and ligaments, thereby reducing your injury potential. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends 600 mg of chondroitin twice daily.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water soluble vitamin essential for the production of collagen. Collagen is the building block of connective tissue including skin, cartilage, tendons and ligament, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center. Collagen is also essential for the maintaining joint health, the growth and repair of tissue, healing wounds and maintaining your bones and teeth. Vitamin C deficiency results in loss of collagen and cartilage, inflexibility in your ligaments and tendons, and increased injury potential. The recommended dosage of vitamin C for is 90 mg/day and 75 mg/day for adult women.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat soluble nutrient essential for cellular division, collagen renewal, protein synthesis and vision. This vitamin increases the metabolic action of enzymes used in collagen synthesis, thereby improving the elasticity of collagen, and maintaining and strengthening tendons and ligaments. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that vitamin A deficiency can result in musculoskeletal problems as well as joint degenerative disorders including as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The recommended dosage of vitamin A in adult males is 900 mg and 700 mg for females.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Glucosamine; April 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Can Glucosamine Supplements Protect my Knee Cartilage From Osteoarthritis?; April Chang-Miller, M.D; May 2011
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Chondroitin; December 2008
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid); June 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin A (Retinol); June 2009
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