Since chondroitin is one of the more expensive ingredients in these combinations, about 5-10 times more expensive than glucosamine, an effective economical joint formula version is glucosamine and MSM together. A 12-week double-blind clinical trial on 118 patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis showed excellent results. Three times a day, one group took 500 mg of glucosamine sulfate, one group took 500 mg of MSM and one group took both. In the glucosamine-only group, pain scores fell from 1.74 to 0.65; in the MSM only group, pain scores fell from 1.53 to 0.74; and in the combination group, pain scores fell from 1.7 to 0.36, equaling about twice the level of improvement in pain and inflammation compared to either glucosamine or MSM alone.