Best Joint Supplement 2023 | We Rank The Most Popular

What Do We Look For In The Best Joint Supplements?

When recommending joint supplements we make sure that we've tried and tested them ourselves, but we also study the ingredients carefully against all the studies that are currently available. We listen to customers, run surveys and do our very best to make sure all our information is as accurate as it can be. In short we judge the products on our best joint supplements list on the following criteria:

Quality of ingredients
How well they work for joint pain
Long Term Joint Health Benefits
Swelling Reduction
Any Specialized Effects
Customer Satisfaction

This means that you can be sure you're getting a quality product with proven health benefits. We will outline the pros and cons of each supplement and we also compare the supplements against what they claim to do, so you just get legitimate information, not marketing hype. Think more omega oil and less snake oil.

Joint supplements can help reduce joint pain, and promote long term joint health, but they're unlikely to completely remove the aches and pains of getting older. But, they definitely can help. We won't knock points off for overhyped marketing, although it does typically reduce customer satisfaction. We also try to avoid proprietary blends as we cannot be sure if the doses of each ingredient are high enough to be effective.

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FlexAgain - Best Overall

Physio Flex Pro - Best Joint Supplement For Inflammation

Relief Factor - Most Popular Joint Supplements

Nordic Oils Omega - Best Omega Oil Supplement For Joints

Nuzena Joint Support - Best Budget Joint Supplement

Best Joint Supplement FAQ

The most common questions we found when looking for the best joint supplements.

What are the best joint supplements for arthritis pain relief?

When it comes to treating arthritis pain and improving joint function omega 3 fatty acids [1], turmeric [2] and resveratrol [3] are typically deemed to be the most effective ingredients for natural rheumatoid arthritis pain. As such we'd typically recommend supplements for arthritis that contain all three.

Are joint supplements FDA approved?

Natural joint supplements do not require individual FDA approval, however, they should still be produced in line with the USA's manufacturing guidelines. Joint health supplements that are not in line with guidelines or contain unlisted ingredients can however be removed from the market for breach of guidelines.

Do Joint Supplements Work?

The short answer is yes, the longer answer is not all of them do, and they're often overhyped in terms of marketing. Supplements for joint pain can work, and they will often reduce symptoms of arthritis, but they're unlikely to completely cure the condition as some companies claim. However many supplements are horribly under dosed, meaning they are entirely ineffective.

Can Calcium Supplements Ease Joint Pain?

Despite common belief calcium is not effective for treating joint pain. [4] It has been commonly promoted by supplements over the years, but recent studies have shown that it has no efficacy in reducing pain. For long term joint health it is beneficial, however if the problem is already there, it won't do anything to reduce pain.

Are Joint Supplements Safe?

For the most part yes, there are potentially some interactions with medications, for example omega 3 can have a mild blood thinning effect, which does not mix well with some medications or conditions [5]. Of course there are always the risks of allergens. But, for most people the most likely issue with joint pain supplements are likely to be mild nausea which can usually be resolved by taking the pills with food.

FlexAgain - Best Joint Supplement Overall

FlexAgain is pretty new to the American market, but now that it’s made it’s way over from England it is by far the best joint supplement in the USA. In fact, nothing else is even close. The only reason we’d recommend any of the other supplements on our list is for if some reason you can’t take on of the ingredients in FlexAgain.

It boasts pretty much every ingredient that’s in everything else on our best list, in effective dosages and is priced cheaper than some of the competitors, with completely transparent labelling we don't know of any natural supplements that are better options to relieve pain or joint discomfort.

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FlexAgain Ingredients

This is quite a long list, but FlexAgain contains 1100mg of omega 3 (from algae), 500mg curcumin extract, 250mg of Eurovita Extract 77 (shown to be as effective as 3000mg ginger) 400mg glucosamine HCL, 250mg chondroitin, 100mg bromelain, 100mg Boswellic acid, 100mg resveratrol as well as Vit D and Vit K2. All of these dosages are in the effective range and every single one is listed on the arthritis foundation's researched supplements list. Many of us already know about why omega oils are effective, and vitamin d and k2 deficiencies can cause joint pain. The interesting include resveratrol, which has been shown to improve overall joint health, and brain health. It works in a similar way to the body as omega oils, but adds additional benefits. Next we have glucosamine HCL is the higher concentration form of glucosamine sulphate, which is a collagen in a lot of the other top supplements, and even prescribed in some countries. 500mg of Curcumin has been shown to reduce pain in chronic arthritis cases and improve osteoarthritis symptoms as well as recovering from injury. Then there's the Ginger and Galangal extract which has been shown to increase joint mobility, reduce pain relief reliance and reduce joint swelling.

Who Is FlexAgain For?

Pretty much anyone looking to improve joint pain management
People who aren't allergic to any of the ingredients

FlexAgain Rating

The only negatives we have to say about FlexAgain is that, it's glucosamine is not stated to be from a vegan source, so it may not be suitable even if their omega source is and that you do have to take 2 pills twice a day. The last issue is that they list MSM, which they underdose, it's not really suitable for combined supplements as it requires 3 full joint pills to be effective. Everything else is ideally dosed, and it pretty much covers every single base that we'd expect from a joint supplement. To be quite honest, this is almost exactly what we'd have put into a supplement ourselves.

Criteria	Rating
Ingredients	10/10
Pain Relief	10/10
Joint Health	10/10
Swelling	10/10
Value	9/10
Recommended	9.5/10

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Physio Flex Pro - Best Joint Supplement For Inflammation

Physio Flex Pro decided to ditch the omega oils, knowing that could be done cheaper by stores own brands, and decided to focus on creating a supplement that has pretty much everything else that you could take to support joint health. It's best taken with an omega 3 supplement as well, but that's not a bad thing. Instead Physio Flex focus on other ingredients and focuses on correctly dosing ingredients res that are actually used by clinicians in Europe like Glucosamine, but aren't used in the USA currently [6].

This has enabled them to create something that can fit in just a 2 pill a day serving without having to compromise on ingredient dosages.

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Physio Flex Pro Ingredients

Physio Flex Pro goes heavy on the selenium which has notable antioxidant effects which work to reduce inflammation [7]. Along with that it includes several of the ingredients we'd expect to see in the best supplements for joint pain, such as turmeric extract, MSM, ginger, bromelain and glucosamine. All of these are good ingredients and work to reduce joint inflammation and pain, but the stand outs are glucosamine hydrochloride, which is actually approved for medical use in Europe and Turmeric. Whilst glucosamine hydrochloride has been shown to be most effective in moderate to mild cases (it was less effective in severe cases), Turmeric extracts have been shown to be effective across the board, however, we would have liked to have seen a slightly higher dose to maximize efficacy, it's still within the working range, and there's only so much that Physio Flex Pro could fit into their capsules.

Who Is Physio Flex Best For?

Anyone suffering with swollen joints
People who can't take omega oils
People who are using other omega oil supplements

Physio Flex Pro Rating

We highly recommend Physio Flex Pro, especially for people who have tried a correct dosage of omega oil and not had the desired effect. There's a lot of ingredients in Flex Pro that can relieve joint pain, and for the most part they're correctly dosed so there's a good chance that one of them will work for any given person. That said, if you've not already tried omega oils to relieve symptoms we'd recommend combining the two for the best effects.

Criteria	Rating
Ingredients	9/10
Pain Relief	8/10
Joint Health	8/10
Swelling	9/10
Value	9/10
Recommended	9/10

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Relief Factor - Most Popular Joint Pills

Relief Factor are the most popular joint pain pill on the market in the US right now, this is largely down to their huge advertising budgets. Whilst the pill itself actually is pretty good, they've fallen foul of overpromising in their marketing. The blend of Turmeric, Resvertrol and Omega 3 fatty acids is a pretty good all around option, for people who want a simple all in one option. The only thing that we don't really like about the Relief Factor formula, is that with the way it is dosed, you would be better off taking 3 pills rather than the 2 recommended, which makes the already expensive supplement even more costly. But, the actual joint pain formula itself is pretty good.

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Relief Factor Ingredients

Relief factors ingredients are good, with a couple of caveats that we've already mentioned, 1100mg is the ideal minimum dosage of Omega 3 [8], Resveratrol should be dosed at 100mg and Turmeric supplements, when not in their refined curcumin form, should be around 1000mg [2] or higher to be effective. Whereas the relief factor dosages are 900mg instead of 1100mg, 70mg instead of 100mg and 667mg instead of 1000mg, which we can see is clearly around 2/3s of the most studied dosages. This would make relief factor potentially better for smaller individuals, in most cases women, but could be less effective for larger men looking to supplement for their joint health.

Who Is Relief Factor Best For?

For people who want one supplement for omega oils and other ingredients
People who can afford it

Relief Factor Rating

Relief Factor is pretty good, it misses out on a couple of extra ingredients and under doses a little, this is because they've tried to keep the formulation down to 2 capsules, which people generally prefer. Unfortunately they made the decision to sell people want, rather than the most effective formula possible. The ingredients are good, but be aware that you may have to take a bit more and the costs could add up if you're trying to optimise joint health.

Criteria	Rating
Ingredients	8/10
Pain Relief	6/10
Joint Health	8/10
Swelling	6/10
Value	7/10
Recommended	7/10

Nordic Naturals Omega-3 - Best Omega Oil

There are quite a few different omega oil supplements on the market, and there's a whole host of ones that could've made this slot. The reality is that for the most part they're very similar, and what it comes down to is, do they have a quality capsule, what's the price point and are they high enough dosed. Whilst the dosage could be higher, it's easy enough to take an extra pill if that better suits your size and needs.

They're made from fish oil, which means they're less easily absorbed by the body than krill oil supplements, but they have higher volumes of DHA and EPA's the fatty acids that are beneficial for maintaining healthy joints. It's a lot cheaper than Omega XL, the markets most well known Omega joint supplement.

And seeing as a lot of people complain about the taste of fish oil supplements, the lemon flavor is a nice touch, which would be a winner with a lot of people. In short omega oils shouldn't be expensive as a stand alone, so good value, means good sense.

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Nuzena Joint Support - Best Cheap Joint Support

Nuzena Joint Support does use some of the cheaper options for a joint pain relief supplement, but it is our budget option and the price point of $35 for a months supply isn't overly high. It uses good ingredients, unfortunately Bromelain is under dosed and largely there just to say that they're on the list, but everything else looks good and there's nothing as good as Nuzena at it's price point.

Overall it's a pretty good well backed budget friendly supplement. It's not the best, but it doesn't come with a premium price tag so we can forgive it not being perfect.

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Nuzena Joint Support Ingredients

We'd have liked to have seen them spend just the little bit more and spring for Glucosamine Hydrochloride over Glucosamine Sulfate, as there isn't much price difference and it's much more effective for just a couple dollars more on the end product, but overall Nuzena is still pretty good. They get a good amount of Curcumin (from Turmeric) with 1200mg, making it on the higher side of the effective dosages which we like. They also dose Boswelia correctly as as well. Turmeric working effectively as a natural anti inflammatory as does boswelia. Glucosamine as we've already mentioned is an essential collagen and makes it into a lot of the best joint supplements. In come countries it's actually prescribed as a joint supplement for arthritis, although typically this is the purer HCL, you get about 30% less for your milligram with sulphate. So it's still within the effective range, just the bottom end, not the top. Although some people do get side effects from HCL joint supplements, so this could be a good solution.

Who Is Nuzena Joint Supplement Best For?

People who can't take omega
People on a budget

Nuzena Rating

Nuzena's joint supplement is our best joint pain supplement for people on a budget. It's not the best if you can afford one of the others on this list, but then it doesn't have to be, that's really not what it's for. It doses the ingredients it has well (for the most part) and means that you get about 4 good supplements for joint pain rolled into one convenient bottle. No complaints about Nuzena.

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Criteria	Rating
Ingredients	7/10
Pain Relief	7/10
Joint Health	8/10
Swelling	8/10
Value	10/10
Recommended	8/10

What Ingredients Are In The Best Joint Supplements

Vit D - Vitamin D deficiency, which almost half of US adults have, can exacerbate joint pain, as such vitamin D supplements may help alleviate chronic pain and joint inflammation. [9]

Vit K2 - Vitamin K is important for healthy functioning of proteins in cartilage and bone, vitamin K2 is the more bioavailable (easily absorbed) version of vitamin K.

Omega 3 has long been known to be essential for joint health, most studies that have tested it for this purpose have focused on EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) the two most well known omega 3 fatty acids. Doses over 1000mg are required for it to be effective based on the majority of studies.

Turmeric extract often referred to as curcumin has been shown to reduce inflammation and offer pain relief to people struggling with chronic joint pain. The arthritis foundation says curcumin blocks inflammatory cytokines and enzymes, which is the same way some none over the counter medications operate. Dosages that have been trialled effectively were 500mg capsules of the extract with 1000mg daily looking to be ideal. Studies have shown it to be effective at treating symptoms and may help delay breakdown.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) has been shown to be effective at treating arthritis pain, however, the trials that have taken place so far were limited to studying knee pain.

Ginger extract has been shown to moderately reduce RA pain, the most effective trials used Eurovita Extract 77 a specific ginger extract at 255mg, but ginger itself has also shown to be effective.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin are often prescribed for joint pain in many European countries, considering the amount of evidence backing their use we're not sure why the US has not followed suit, fortunately they're readily available over the counter. Supplementation with Glucosamine sulfate did help those with moderate to mild pain, however, it did not do much for those suffering with more severe joint discomfort.

Bromelain - Initial studies are very positive about bromelain being used to treat joint pain, it's still relatively new, so more studies are required. But, it's a common inclusion in the best supplements for arthritis.

Boswellic acid appears to be an effective anti inflammatory agent, this enables it to improve joint function, and reduce muscle pain. Whilst it requires further trials it currently shows signs of being a positive over the counter treatment.

What Ingredients Are Common, But Not Effective

Hyaluronic Acid often makes an appearance in joint supplements for rheumatoid arthritis, the reason for this is that Hyaluronic acid injections have been shown to be effective at relieving joint pain, however, studies have shown that it is not actually effective as an oral supplement for supporting joint health.

References

1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7362115/
2 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003001/
3 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30160612
4 - https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/news/20130823/calcium-plus-vitamin-d-wont-cure-joint-pain-study-finds
5 - https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/tips/things-to-know-about-omegas-for-heart-disease
6 - https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/complementary-therapies/supplements-and-vitamins/glucosamine-chondroitin-osteoarthritis-pain
7 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7601319/
8 - https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional/
9- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5922228/