Flexy3 Supplementation and Joint Health

The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, hip, and hand has been estimated at 20% to 30% in the adult population (Neogi and Zhang, 2012). Knee OA is the most common form with prevalence increases throughout the lifespan (Wallace et al., 2017, Nguyen et al., 2011). Globally, knee and hip OA were estimated to be the 11th greatest contributors to years of life lived with disability in 2010 (Cross et al., 2014). On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported to affect 0.1-2.0% of the population worldwide (Almutairi et al., 2021). As with any disease, identifying novel treatment options for managing arthritis and promoting joint health requires an understanding of the underlying etiology that leads to the development of the observed symptoms (Guo et al., 2018, Sandell, 2012). The pathophysiology of cartilage degradation in arthritis is multifactorial, primarily driven by pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, and further exacerbated by metabolic comorbidities. (e.g., obesity, diabetes) (Rahmati et al., 2017, Markovics et al., 2021). In vitro evidence suggests that some natural products may possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties and may inhibit the release of key osteoarthritis-related cytokines. There is, therefore, ongoing interest in identifying natural products that safely promote joint health and treat osteoarthritis. Numerous plant extracts, including curcumin, Boswellia extract, and pycnogenol, have shown effect sizes (ES) for reducing pain and functional disability larger than those observed with analgesics and products such as glucosamine and chondroitin (Henrotin and Mobasheri, 2018). A recent literature review and meta-analysis conducted by Liu et al. (2018) reported that a number of natural products produced clinically important effect sizes (ES) of -1.2 to - 1.6 in randomized, controlled trials (RCTs), that exceed what has been observed with traditional OA treatments such as glucosamine and chondroitin, whi