Best Supplements For Joint (Rotator Cuff) Issues?

I've had issues with my rotator cuffs for over two decades now. Having just started a serious workout routine again last year (and my first cycle just a few days ago), my rotator cuffs have definitely gotten worse. I don't want them to hold back my workouts, but other than warming them up pre-workout, various rotator exercises, and light rotator stretches, I'm not sure of the best supplements out there for them these days?

I used to be an NASM trainer for over a decade, and I'm very familiar with what exercises and such to do for them like I already said. Not worried about anything other than what supplements I could use that help. I'm open to anything - legal or illegal, just to be clear. Just hoping to find something that actually works without breaking the bank (with three kids, I am on a relatively tight budget).

To add, I tried the mega-dosing Vitamin C years and years ago and it did absolutely nothing to help my joints. Other than that, I really never took anything specifically for them. I know there's a lot of things out there, but I really don't know which ones are just hype, and which ones actually work? Also, of the ones that work, how long does it typically take to notice a difference?

Ok, so while I was waiting for a response, I did some research. I ended up going with the most affordable product on Amazon with a solid rating (4.5 star) that had a combination of various products in it. From all the research I did, it seems like different people respond to various products differently, so it all depends on the individual as far as what's best for them.

With that said, the one I went with seems to have all the main products out there that seem to work best. It's from Arazo Nutrition and has:
Glucosamine
Chondroitin
Msm
Turmeric
Boswellia

While I just started it two days ago, it has already given me some relief. In the mornings, as I'd lift my left arm to put my shirt on, there would be a bit of achiness in my shoulder (less in the right, but a slight bit). After the first day of this product, it was noticeably less. This morning, almost nothing at all. Definitely making a difference. Still sucks during my shoulder workouts, but hoping in time, it will keep improving.

Anyway, figured I would throw this update out there for anyone else in a similar predicament.

Tendons and ligaments have terrible blood supply, they rely heavily on the peripheral blood supply, you can increase this by producing a "pump" in the affected area, volumizers will assist with this, such as:
Creatine 5g per day
Citruline 5g 30 minutes before workout
Arginine 3g 30 minutes before workout

During the workout, you want your blood to be heavily laden with the requisite materials for connective tissue repair, so take these 60 minutes before your workout:
Collagen 10g
Vitamin C 100mg
Glucosamine 1.5g

If you really want to heal fast, try SubQ BPC-157 in the localized area, or SubQ TB-500 anywhere (it has low molecular weight and will travel to every location in the body). These peptides are super healing factors, lots of people run them together, you can further enhance the healing factor of these compounds by adding in a GH secretagogue, like Mk677.

your missing the best supplement for joints. hyaluronic acid is hands down the best joint supplement, if you dont want to use peptides. hyaluronic acid is an orally bio available form of synovial fluid. synovial fluid is what the bursa sacs in your joints are full of. as we get older we produce less just like everything else, you used to need to have it injected directly into the sac to refill it. hyaluronic is just an orally bio available form.

i can tell you from past experience shoulders are such a unique joint supplements will help to a certain extent, but once discontinued it will come back. i used to have a nagging shoulder injury from a car accident, and the only thing that actually worked was BPC157. completely cure my shoulder issue, and a couple other nagging injuries like tennis elbow. i would use the supplement you got along with some hyaluronic acid, collagen, and BPC157. this should help heal the shoulder not just provide temporary relief. BPC157 is flat out amazing if you get the real deal.

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Originally Posted by DustMan

If you really want to heal fast, try SubQ BPC-157 in the localized area, or SubQ TB-500 anywhere (it has low molecular weight and will travel to every location in the body). These peptides are super healing factors, lots of people run them together, you can further enhance the healing factor of these compounds by adding in a GH secretagogue, like Mk677.

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Absolutely. Just add in low dose var and you're golden.

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Originally Posted by jstone

your missing the best supplement for joints. hyaluronic acid is hands down the best joint supplement, if you dont want to use peptides. hyaluronic acid is an orally bio available form of synovial fluid. synovial fluid is what the bursa sacs in your joints are full of. as we get older we produce less just like everything else, you used to need to have it injected directly into the sac to refill it. hyaluronic is just an orally bio available form.

i can tell you from past experience shoulders are such a unique joint supplements will help to a certain extent, but once discontinued it will come back. i used to have a nagging shoulder injury from a car accident, and the only thing that actually worked was BPC157. completely cure my shoulder issue, and a couple other nagging injuries like tennis elbow. i would use the supplement you got along with some hyaluronic acid, collagen, and BPC157. this should help heal the shoulder not just provide temporary relief. BPC157 is flat out amazing if you get the real deal.

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I've had HA injections now several times in my knees. Work great. It's a three shot protocol in both knees so it's a three week process. I rotate these with Zilretta which is a long lasting cortisone and a much newer product. Zilretta is amazing as you feel like you have new knees the next day. The injection is 5ml which is a bit scary but the knee can hold a ton more. Doesn't last as long as HA injections though. Not sure if Zilretta is approved for shoulders yet or not.

Thanks so much for the info guys. Took a look into that BPC-157 and it looks real promising. I'm going to have to shop around for that. I know I can get the TB-500, but BPC-157 seems far preferable.

So far, the shoulders are still doing ok. A little soreness in the morning when I put my shirt on still, but better than it had been. But as has been brought up in the thread here, yes, I'm concerned it's going to come right back after I stop the supplement.

Have you considered talking to your Ortho about PRP Therapy?

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Originally Posted by kelkel

Have you considered talking to your Ortho about PRP Therapy?

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If I had insurance, I absolutely would. My problem is that the insurance I can get through my company isn't financially feasible to me, especially with three children and a ton of expenses currently. So, my options at this point are pretty much limited to cheap black market sources I know are reliable, lol.

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Originally Posted by ascendant

If I had insurance, I absolutely would. My problem is that the insurance I can get through my company isn't financially feasible to me, especially with three children and a ton of expenses currently. So, my options at this point are pretty much limited to cheap black market sources I know are reliable, lol.

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Understood. Insurance rarely covers PRP anyway. I had it done a year ago for a shoulder tear. Definitly helped. Painful process though.

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Originally Posted by jstone

i used to have a nagging shoulder injury from a car accident, and the only thing that actually worked was BPC157. completely cure my shoulder issue, and a couple other nagging injuries like tennis elbow. i would use the supplement you got along with some hyaluronic acid, collagen, and BPC157. this should help heal the shoulder not just provide temporary relief. BPC157 is flat out amazing if you get the real deal.

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Ok, so I think I'm going to get some of the BPC157. How long did it take for you to see noticeable results with your shoulder issue? Do you know what the shoulder issue was? Just wondering if it was the rotator cuff for you as well, or something else?

Here's a couple good articles for you:

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...to-use-tb-500/

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...o-use-bpc-157/

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Originally Posted by kelkel

Here's a couple good articles for you:

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...to-use-tb-500/

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...o-use-bpc-157/

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Thanks again. As always from you, extremely helpful. I really appreciate it. Think I'm good to go here. Got some BPC for now and going to give that a shot... literally. :)

Let us know how it goes for you!

IMO whatever direction you go DONT ignore the pain. I did for to long. I did use TB-500 for a while but it didnt do much for me because I think I had already done to much damage. I wanted to try PRP also but same as you insurance didnt cover it so I eventually went with arthroscopic surgery from one of the best surgeons in my area. He told me before I had it done I would probably need a full shoulder replacement eventually. After my surgery he was excited to tell me it took him 2x longer than he had anticipated because the MRI didnt show even 1/2 the real damage inside. :( I had replacement done in 2018 and scheduled to have it done again next month because I didnt give it time to heal properly and the bicep and rotator cuff detached. Yes I'm a slow learner. :(

Even though my insurance would not have paid for PRP I would have saved money in the long run due to copay's and such. I would have also liked to have tried Stem-cell.

I TRY to remember to take my joint supplements regularly and Im pretty good but when I forget for a week or two I can defiantly tell the difference.
Glucosamine
Chondroitin
Msm
hyaluronic acid

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Originally Posted by kelkel

Here's a couple good articles for you:

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...to-use-tb-500/

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/art...o-use-bpc-157/

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This was a good resource, thanks!

I had a rotator cuff injury a couple of years ago, along with wear and tear from 20 years of this shit. Long story short, my shoulder bothered me for a good 1.5 years after the injury and still isn't 100%, but I noticed a drastic improvement after a few months of the following:

- reduced the weight I was doing (thanks to covid and no gyms, the most I can do for chest press is 2 x 75 lb dumbells... and my cable machine which goes up more but I use it for flies)
- Don't do any more shoulder presses, ever
- Before each workout, I use those elastic rubber tubes to pump up and improve blood flow, especially for shoulders. I do various side laterals, circular motions, and front raises with the green tube.
- Exercises that hurt, I did with the rubber bands/tubes until I was able to move back to free weights.
- I started taking a Creatine + Glutamine blend ( I think this helped a lot)
- Take Calcium + Vitamin D


I'll tell you what, I haven't lost any size. In fact, I've increased size in my chest & shoulders because I can now work out without pain and actually feel the muscle and contract it. Before, everything hurt, so even if I did heavy weight, it felt like I was working out my joints and tendons more than the actual muscle. I realized I didn't need to do hundreds of lbs of weight. I've always felt moderate weight lead to better pumps and more burn than heavy weight.

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Originally Posted by Test Monsterone

I'll tell you what, I haven't lost any size. In fact, I've increased size in my chest & shoulders because I can now work out without pain and actually feel the muscle and contract it. Before, everything hurt, so even if I did heavy weight, it felt like I was working out my joints and tendons more than the actual muscle. I realized I didn't need to do hundreds of lbs of weight. I've always felt moderate weight lead to better pumps and more burn than heavy weight.

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Solid advice above.

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Originally Posted by Test Monsterone

- Before each workout, I use those elastic rubber tubes to pump up and improve blood flow

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My left shoulder is fucked, I've been doing the stretches and super light weight before the workout to get a pump and it works for me too. Is this the type of equipment you are talking about by chance?

Attachment 180774

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Originally Posted by DustMan

My left shoulder is fucked, I've been doing the stretches and super light weight before the workout to get a pump and it works for me too. Is this the type of equipment you are talking about by chance?

Attachment 180774

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Yes. Mine have the detachable handles so I can combine bands. I love those things.

Well, I'll definitely have to make a new thread covering it more in depth later on, but I did go the BPC route. Only used 5mg to start over the course of a little over two weeks. I was doing two 150mcg shots in each shoulder every evening. The website boasting "heal like wolverine" is of course a bunch of over-hyped BS. Did it help some? Yes. But I mean was it like a miracle recovery? Not at all.

It definitely made some difference for me, so after that test run and realizing it wasn't enough, I got three more vials of it coming in soon. Figured I might as well, as it was still well less than $100 total for all of them, versus thousands of dollars if I eventually have to do surgery. Instead of splitting it into two shots each evening, I'll probably just alternate arms with 300mcg each night. I might increase the dose as well. I don't know, I need to do more research before I get it. I'll be sure to make a thread about it in a couple months or so of doing it all. Wish me luck guys!!!

Goodluck dude!

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Originally Posted by ascendant

Well, I'll definitely have to make a new thread covering it more in depth later on, but I did go the BPC route. Only used 5mg to start over the course of a little over two weeks. I was doing two 150mcg shots in each shoulder every evening. The website boasting "heal like wolverine" is of course a bunch of over-hyped BS. Did it help some? Yes. But I mean was it like a miracle recovery? Not at all.

It definitely made some difference for me, so after that test run and realizing it wasn't enough, I got three more vials of it coming in soon. Figured I might as well, as it was still well less than $100 total for all of them, versus thousands of dollars if I eventually have to do surgery. Instead of splitting it into two shots each evening, I'll probably just alternate arms with 300mcg each night. I might increase the dose as well. I don't know, I need to do more research before I get it. I'll be sure to make a thread about it in a couple months or so of doing it all. Wish me luck guys!!!

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Definitely post up here and let us know. Use this thread.