Daily fiber supplement reduced knee arthritis pain and improved strength in clinical trial
A clinical trial by the University of Nottingham found that a daily inulin fiber supplement significantly reduced pain and improved grip strength in 117 adults with knee osteoarthritis. The study suggests the supplement works by nourishing gut bacteria to produce compounds that regulate pain. The supplement also had a much higher adherence rate, with a 3.6% dropout rate compared to 21% for a digital physiotherapy program.
INSPIRE clinical trial design
▪The INSPIRE clinical trial was led by researchers at the University of Nottingham.
▪Participants were divided into four groups receiving inulin alone, digital physiotherapy alone, both treatments, or a placebo.
▪The trial tested inulin, a natural prebiotic dietary fiber found in sources like chicory root and Jerusalem artichokes.
▪The six-week randomized controlled trial included 117 adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Inulin pain reduction results
▪The study's findings, published in the journal Nutrients, suggest supporting gut health could be a new way to manage knee OA.
▪A daily prebiotic fiber supplement, inulin, significantly reduced pain among participants with knee osteoarthritis.
▪Knee osteoarthritis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is a major cause of chronic pain and disability.
Gut microbiome mechanisms
▪Butyrate is a compound that can affect inflammation and the biological pathways involved in pain throughout the body.
▪Inulin is a prebiotic that nourishes beneficial gut bacteria, which then produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate.
▪Participants who received inulin had higher levels of both butyrate and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut hormone associated with pain regulation.
Grip strength improvements
▪Participants who took the inulin supplement showed stronger grip strength.
▪Increased levels of the gut hormone GLP-1 were linked to better grip strength, suggesting a possible gut-muscle-pain connection.
▪Only the inulin group experienced improved grip strength and lower pain sensitivity, not the physiotherapy-only group.
Treatment adherence rates
▪The dropout rate for participants taking the inulin supplement was 3.6%.
▪The dropout rate for the digital physiotherapy group was 21%, significantly higher than the inulin group.
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