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Equine America UK
7 Lawson Hunt Business Park, Broadbridge Heath, West Sussex
RH12 3JR
Tel: 01403 255809 or 01403 255511
Fax: 01403 241083
Cortaflex For Healthy Joints
- Introduction
- The Cortaflex Movie
- Cortaflex - Hyaluronic Acid
- Research - Clinical Evidence
- Cortaflex Products
1 - Introduction
Wear and tear to the joints is a normal function and will occur naturally with age, but our domestication of the horse has increased the stresses on the joints resulting in joint related diseases being the biggest cause of lameness and the most common reason for a horse to come out of work.
Constant pounding on artificial, hard or heavy ground is very demanding on joints – even hacking can cause abnormal wear and tear, metal shoes increase concussion and confinements of stables increases pressure.
Feeding a proven joint supplement can help to redress the balance and support healthy joints.
Chondroitin, Glucosamine or Cortaflex? Facts about Joint Cartilage
Chondroitin and Glucosamine are produced naturally by the body and aid in repair and maintenance of the joint tissue. Joint cartilage is not directly connected to any blood vessels so, all of the nutrients that the cartilage needs for good health have to be small enough to pass through cellular walls to benefit the joint tissue.
Cortaflex was formulated around the theory that smaller molecules are more likely to be absorbed through celluar walls than larger ones. Therefore, Cortaflex contains the microsized key active isolates of Chondroitin and Glucosamine, providing the body with both the building blocks and the stimulus for its own production of Chondroitin and Glucosamine.
Pictured: The Cortaflex Product Range
2 - The Cortaflex Movie
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Cortaflex should not be confused or compared with the many joint supplements that rely in the larger sized Chondroitin and Glucosamine molecules. These supplements generally state that it may take several weeks before there is any variation in joint mobility. By contrast, The Horse Journal reported that horses on Cortaflex showed dramatic results in as little as three days!
"After oral administration, the mean bioavailability was 2.5%. Determination of bioavailability after administration to horses provides evidence that Glucosamine is absorbed orally, albeit low.”
From: The Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetics of Glucosamine Hydrochloride and Chondroitin Sulphate after Oral and Intravenous Single Administration in the Horse.
Jianping Du et al
"The bioavailablity of the higher molecular weight Chondroitin Sulphate was between 22% and 32%."
From: The Oral Absorption of Chondroitin Sulphate as determined by Total Disaccharide Content After Oral and Intravenous Administration to Horses.
Natalie D Eddington et al
In a study on people comparing effects of 1.5 g/day oral Glucosamine with a placebo:
“Our results suggest that although Glucosamine appears to be safe, it is no more effective than placebo“.
Lead researcher Dr Timothy McAlindon, Tufts New England Medical Centre, Boston, MA 2004
3 - Cortaflex and Hyaluronic Acid
Cortaflex is now fortified with Hyaluronic Acid (HA) for even greater benefit to the joints, particularly those that have experienced excessive wear and tear.
HA is a major component of synovial fluid, which is essential for providing the joints with lubrication and the cartilage with nutrients. HA has traditionally been derived from type II Collagen sourced from Rooster Comb, which has a high molecular weight of up to six million Daltons. This form of HA has been shown to be very effective when injected but is not considered to achieve a good rate of absorption when taking orally due to the large molecular size.
The Hyaluronic Acid used in Cortaflex is of vegetable origin and has a molecular weight of less then 50,000 Daltons. It is believed that this is more readily absorbed, providing Hyaluronic Acid to the joints in a non-invasive way.
Pictured: The Cortaflex Product Range
4 - Research - Clinical Evidence Separates the Innovator from the Imitator
Clinical Study
Cortaflex is the only equine joint supplement to have been clinically proven in a double blind study of equine tarsal joint movement. The rigorous trial was conducted by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, one of the leading equine research institutes in the world.
Unlike the more subjective research approaches in the majority of equine trials, the study used the most advanced kinetic analysis techniques to objectively and accurately measure the horse’s gait. These techniques, based on video and force plates, unquestionably proved the effects of supplementation. The results were then presented by the author Dr Hilary Clayton BVMS, PhD, MRCVS, to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP)) and published in the conference proceedings.
Read the Trial Report [PDF]
Consultant Equine Surgeon Recommendation
“I have been recommending Cortaflex for 10 years in any case involving joint stiffness because it has stood the test of time and remains, in my opinion, the best joint supplement on the market. Cortaflex has now been fortified with Hyaluronic Acid, which means that the isolates contained in the Cortaflex formula provide all the key nutrition for cartilage function and repair, whilst the HA component stimulates high quality joint fluid that lubricates the articular surfaces to reduce wear and tear damage.”
Dr David Platt BVSc., PhDc., PhD., DEO., FRCVS, RCVS Diplomate in Equine Orthopaedic Surgery, Consultant Equine Surgeon.
