Most people treat joint pain the same way: reach for ibuprofen or naproxen, get relief for a few hours, and repeat the cycle indefinitely. But over-the-counter painkillers don't address why joints hurt — they temporarily block the sensation.
Joint discomfort has two underlying drivers: cartilage degradation (the cushioning between joints breaking down over time) and chronic inflammation (the immune response that makes the existing damage feel worse). Address neither, and no amount of pain relief actually resolves the problem.
Most joint supplements address one or the other. Very few address both at clinically relevant doses.