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Collagen for Joints: 4 Major Benefits and How Much to Use

By Rachel Link, RD, MS

November 25, 2024

Collagen powder is widely considered to be one of the best joint supplements. How come? Because it plays a major role in forming healthy cartilage and keeping connective tissues including joints, ligaments and tendons strong and healthy. In fact, nearly 100 percent of connective tissues are made from collagen.

Benefits of collagen for joints generally include its ability to support comfort and mobility, as well as supporting healthy energy levels, exercise performance and recovery.

Let’s look closer below at the best type of collagen for joints, plus how to use it and how much to take.

Joint health as we age

Collagen is a type of protein that’s a key component of cartilage, joints, ligaments, bone and other tissues that help to give our bodies structure and help them function well.

As a complex protein, it’s made up of chains of amino acids like arginine, glutamine, glycine and proline, which are not always easy to get in high amounts from other protein sources such as meat.

Unfortunately, as we age our bodies naturally begin to produce less collagen, which means our joints may often feel it.

This process can begin as early as in your mid-30s and continues into older age. While aging itself is a big factor in a person’s interest in joint health, so are other lifestyle habits that tend to impact collagen, such as eating a poor diet, too much or too little activity, and high amounts of stress.

Want to learn how to increase collagen levels? Can you also support your body’s collagen in your joints? This is where a healthy diet and joint supplements such as collagen protein can come into play.

In addition to eating a nutrient-dense diet that includes enough antioxidants, protein and natural sources of collagen such as bone broth, joint health supplements can also provide our bodies with the amino acids it needs to support the health of connective tissues and maintain joint comfort and mobility.

Collagen benefits for joints

Below is more about some of the main and general benefits of collagen for joints:

1. Promotes overall joint health

A key protein powder, collagen promotes overall joint health by contributing to flexibility, mobility and range of motion. Some collagen supplements like Ancient Nutrition's Multi Collagen Protein have even been shown to support post-exercise recovery and reduce discomfort with noticeable results in as little as seven days.

If you’re someone who has occasional knee discomfort, there’s reason to believe collagen can help improve knee function after 30 days of use. Additionally it can reduce range-of-motion-associated discomfort and stiffness.

2. Helps to form cartilage

Collagen, especially type 2 collagen, helps to give cartilage its strength and elasticity.

Cartilage is a type of connective tissue that functions to cushion the ends of bones and supports gliding movement of joints. It allows our bodies to absorb shock and to bear stress, plus it also helps to form other body parts including the ears, nose, the bronchial tubes and the rib cage.

Collagen makes up about 50 percent of all protein in cartilage and 85–90 percent of collagen of articular cartilage.

The amino acids found in collagen, often referred to as the “building blocks of protein,” are crucial for keeping tissues in tip-top shape. They function to stimulate cells in the joints/cartilage that help with the normal growth and repair process. Collagen supplements can possibly help reduce cartilage degradation and help maintain healthy cartilage and cartilage turnover.

3. Can help support exercise performance and recovery

Certain collagens not only support everyday movements and overall functionality, but it can also support exercise performance and recovery. It can help to reduce knee stiffness in as soon as one week of use. It’s also capable of reducing general exercise-induced joint stiffness and discomfort in as little as five days.

Within collagen, you’ll also find certain amino acids such as glycine that help form creatine, a substance that can support growth of muscle mass, strength, healthy energy levels and exercise abilities.

4. Supports bone health

In general, collagen can help to support strong bones, which generally contributes to joint stability and mobility by taking some of the stress and pressure off our joints. Bone strength is important for overall health and strength.

Best collagen supplements for joints

Which type of collagen is best for joints? The best collagen for joints is type 2 collagen. Although collagen type 2 is found in lesser amounts in the human body than type 1 collagen, it’s the type of collagen that primarily helps to build connective tissues and cartilage.

Type 2 collagen is abundant in high amounts in chicken cartilage (also called chicken collagen). Chicken cartilage can be synthesized and used in powdered collagen supplements and bone broth supplements. Additionally, it’s inherently found in chicken bone broth, which is made with nutrient-filled animal parts such as bones, ligaments and connective tissues.

The great thing about type 2 collagen for joint health is that it also inherently contains chondroitin and glucosamine, two compounds that help support healthy cartilage.

Type 2 collagen is a major ingredient in Multi Collagen Protein, which actually features 10 types of collagen that also support the health of your skin, gut, hair, nails and more.

In fact, the benefits listed above all exist for Multi Collagen Protein that has taken the collagen industry by storm and has the clinical studies to prove it. The specific joint benefits from Multi Collagen Protein's ingredients (including eggshell membrane collagen) include the following:

• In one study, people taking 500 mg of this eggshell membrane daily had a 40% improvement in knee discomfort and a 22% improvement in knee stiffness after just 10 days.

• Reduces joint discomfort rapidly (7 days), continuously (30 days) and persistently (90 days).

• Reduces knee stiffness at 7 days and significantly reduces knee stiffness and discomfort after 30 days.

• Support against exercise-related cartilage breakdown, including helping to maintain healthy cartilage and cartilage turnover.

• Reduces the biomarker CTX-II, related to healthy cartilage.

• Improved flexibility and range of motion (ROM), including reducing ROM-associated discomfort.

• Provides rapid relief for exercise-induced joint discomfort (day 1) and stiffness (day 5) immediately following exercise.

• Improves recovery from exercise-induced joint stiffness in as little as 4 days and overall reduces exercise-induced stiffness by 18.5%.

Multi Collagen Protein features hydrolyzed collagen, which means the collagen peptides have been partially broken down to help with absorption. Once hydrolyzed, the amino acids in collagen become more bioavailable, which means your body can generally put them to work more easily.

Multi Collagen Protein Joint + Tissue - Vanilla is also available. It includes joint-supporting superfood ingredients like organic fermented turmeric and ginger. If you prefer capsules over using collagen powder, try hydrolyzed Multi Collagen Peptides Capsules Joint & Mobility or the standard Multi Collagen Peptides Capsules instead.

If you're interested in combining joint health with other benefits like getting lean, gaining muscle, detoxing or hydrating better, consider Ancient Nutrition's collagen line called Multi Collagen Advanced.

Type 2 collagen is also featured in Ancient Nutrition’s Bone Broth Protein, which also contains collagen types 1 and 3 as well the compounds glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. Those compounds help your joints move and feel better, with less discomfort and increased mobility.

How much collagen per day for the joints?

How much collagen do you need per day for supporting your joints? A general recommendation is for most adults to take between 1–3 scoops/servings per day, which equates to about 10 to 30 grams of collagen protein.

However, you should always read label directions for suggested use. Additionally, you should always consult your healthcare professional prior to starting any new dietary or lifestyle regimen, including dietary supplements.

Collagen protein powders are typically unflavored, but also come in a variety of flavors such as chocolate and vanilla.

In terms of how to use collagen powder, it’s very simple: They can easily be mixed into coffee, juice, shakes/smoothies, oatmeal, soups and even baked goods such as pancakes and muffins. You can blend collagen into liquids and recipes if you’d like, but simply shaking it well also works. It dissolves easily in both hot and cold liquids, giving you loads of options.

In addition to adding joint supplements to your routine, you can also incorporate collagen-rich foods and “collagen-boosters” in your diet to help support healthy connective tissues. These include: bone broth (especially chicken bone broth), foods high in antioxidants and vitamin C like leafy greens and berries, organ meats, grass-fed beef, and wild-caught fish.