NEM eggshell membrane can help recovery in healthy yet tired joints, research recommends

01 Mar 2018 --- A study using NEM brand eggshell membrane from Stratum, showed positive joint health benefits for individuals with healthy joints. Improvements were seen in the rapid recovery from exercise-induced joint pain and stiffness and less discomfort immediately following exercise. Moreover, a substantial chondroprotective effect was demonstrated from NEM supplementation through a lasting decrease in the cartilage degradation biomarker, CTX-II.

“CTX-II has already been utilized in research regarding disease joints. Our application into those with healthy joints opens up a new avenue for research in the musculoskeletal arena,” Dr. Jason Theodosakis, co-author of the study, tells NutritionInsight.

Participating in the study were sixty healthy, post-menopausal women who reported no prior persistent joint pain. They were randomly assigned to receive either oral NEM 500 mg or placebo once daily for two consecutive weeks while performing an exercise regimen (50 to 100 steps per leg) on alternating days.

The primary endpoint for the study was any statistically significant reduction in exercise-induced cartilage turnover via the cartilage degradation biomarker, CTX-II, versus placebo. This was evaluated at one week and two weeks of treatment. Secondary endpoints were reductions in either exercise-induced joint pain or stiffness versus placebo. These were evaluated daily, both immediately and 12 hours post-exercise via participant questionnaires.

Results showed that a daily, small 500 mg dose of NEM rapidly improved recovery from exercise-induced joint pain and stiffness, as well as significantly reduced discomfort immediately following exercise. Furthermore, a large chondroprotective effect was demonstrated through a lasting decrease in CTX-II, the cartilage degradation biomarker. This marks the first evidence suggesting that biomarker CTX-II can be used to evaluate the chondroprotective efficacy of joint therapeutics in healthy individuals, as well as other populations.

This study opens up an exciting arena of further research regarding the use of NEM for healthy joint exercise and recovery. Dr. Theo expands, “Performance enhancement would be one area. Another area would be long-term outcome studies, such as determining if NEM could inhibit or delay the future development of arthritis, medication use, or surgery.  It’s known already, for instance, that quadricep muscle weakness in women precedes the development of osteoarthritis. Theoretically, if we could keep people exercising, and their legs strong, they might be able to alter the course of history when it comes to joints.”

Eggshell membrane’s proven joint health success 
This is not the first time that the benefits of Eggshell membrane on joint health have been scientifically demonstrated. Previous animal trails using rodent models of collagen-induced inflammation and arthritis have shown the potential of NEM’s healthy inflammatory response. Furthermore, NEM has been clinically proven to reduce pain and improve function in dogs suffering from joint problems.