I’ve tried Instaflex and Relief Factor for joint pain relief. I wanted to test them because they are two of the most popular and are often raved about. So, which one is better and are they worth taking?
Relief Factor is a more effective joint health supplement because it contains higher doses of ingredients proven beneficial for joint pain and mobility. Instaflex is way too underdosed, and it can work only after a few months of intake.
Regardless of Relief Factor’s effectiveness, I do not recommend it because it is too expensive compared to other potent supplements like FlexAgain, which has higher doses, more components, and a lower price.
| Feature | Winner |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Relief Factor |
| Dosage | Relief Factor |
| Joint Relief Effectiveness | Relief Factor |
| Third-Party Testing | Relief Factor |
| Clinical Research | Draw |
| Side Effects | Instaflex |
| User Reviews | Instaflex |
| Price | Instaflex |
Winner
Based on my testing and formulation breakdown, neither Relief Factor nor Instaflex is as effective as FlexAgain. FlexAgain is a more potent joint supplement with an effective formulation for joint pain relief and support.
What Is Instaflex?
Adaptive Health is a renowned company in the health and wellness industry. It produces Instaflex and other well-known supplements, such as Nugenix.
Designed by doctors, Instaflex is a natural joint health supplement combining clinically proven and more speculative ingredients to offer men and women notable joint pain relief.
The fact that the product is sold on Amazon and other big stores is a significant benefit for a supplement since it would be easy to get on grocery trips.
To find further information, read my detailed Instaflex review.
What Is Relief Factor?
Relief Factor is a comprehensive joint health supplement created by Relief Factor Co., which also produces supplements for anxiety relief, higher energy, and better sleep quality.
Relief Factor is a drug-free daily supplement that boosts your body’s natural anti-inflammatory response, decreasing or eliminating pain. The formula is free of drugs and is intended to help the body self-heal and restore natural function.
Relief Factor is made entirely of natural ingredients and has undergone third-party testing to ensure its purity from contaminants and heavy metals. It is suitable for any health-conscious person suffering from joint pain.
You can read my Relief Factor review for a formula breakdown and my experiences.
Instaflex vs. Relief Factor Main Differences
Benefits
Supplements like Instafllex and Relief Factor are designed to naturally reduce joint pain and stiffness and restore natural mobility and range of motion in the joints.
They take the opposite approach of prescription medicine, which always has adverse effects, and use natural ingredients to strengthen the body’s own healing mechanisms.
Relief Factor is an entirely drug-free product with natural ingredients that support pain relief in various ways.
The formulation is designed to give your body the nutrition it needs to eliminate daily joint and muscle pain.
Instaflex works by targeting the root of your discomfort to provide powerful, lasting relief instead of treating only the pain without resolving the cause.
A notable benefit of Instaflex is its availability on Amazon, Walmart, and other major retailers, which is a significant convenience.
Many joint supplements (as is the case with Relief Factor) can only be bought through their websites, while you can grab a few bottles of Instaflex every time you shop for groceries.
Ingredients
What I like about Instaflex and Relief Factor are the transparent ingredient lists and exact dosages. They allow me to tell you if each component is in a dose supported by clinical studies or underdosed.
Instaflex contains well-proven ingredients used to treat joint pain.
The product contains 200 milligrams of curcumin, which is a biologically active turmeric component.
Clinical trials have demonstrated that curcumin can be as effective as prescription medicines in reducing joint swelling, discomfort, and stiffness while also improving walking ability in people with osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. The bulk of research focused exclusively on knee pain [1][2].
Unfortunately, the dose in Instaflex is substantially less than the prescribed amount. However, the use of Bioperine improves things slightly. Bioperine enhances the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and most extracts and is usually combined with curcumin in supplements to increase their efficacy. [3].
Resveratrol is a frequent nootropic component, but it has also been shown to improve mobility and alleviate joint discomfort. Resveratrol inhibits the onset of arthritis and produces stronger cartilage through a unique mechanism in the body [4][5].
Instaflex contains 40 mg of collagen type two, but studies show that taking it as a dietary supplement can be beneficial only in much higher doses [6].
Hyaluronic acid, the last component of Instaflex, has little evidence suggesting potential oral benefits. Injecting it directly into the joint is undeniably effective in reducing inflammation, but its oral efficacy is limited [7][8].
Now, let’s look at Relief Factor’s ingredients.
The product contains 900 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, including 647 mg of EPA and 253 mg of DHA.
Omega-3 is a commonly utilized ingredient in supplements for joint pain due to its ability to decrease inflammation, alleviate pain, boost joint health, prevent joint injury, repair existing damage, promote growth of muscles and connective tissues, and improve joint lubrication, flexibility, and mobility [9].
Relief Factor also contains curcumin, which we looked at in the Instaflex ingredients paragraph.
Icariin is employed in traditional Chinese medicine for many purposes, such as alleviating swelling and inflammation.
Nevertheless, the applicable research is limited to studies conducted on animals. Therefore, the efficacy of Icariin on humans is still highly uncertain [10].
Relief Factor incorporates Japanese knotweed root extract, which contains Resveratrol, a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. Taking it aids in the prevention or treatment of oxidative stress and harm to the cells and tissues of the human body [11].
Unfortunately, the 75 mg dosage in Relief Factor is insufficient, while the suggested quantity is 150 mg.
Effectiveness
Relief Factor produced some effect and alleviated my knee pain, unlike Instaflex, which had little to no effect in the one month I tried it.
But Relief Factor’s relief was not life-changing, and I’ve felt better from other products. Still, there were undeniably positive effects.
Clinical Research
The ingredients in Instaflex and Relief Facor have been well-researched, and I’ve included a few relevant studies in this review’s ingredients section.
The Instaflex website boldly states that UCII collagen is twice as effective as glucosamine (a popular joint health component) but neglects to clarify that oral ingestion has not been shown to be as helpful.
In general, all of the substances have excellent scientific backing, even if the doses do not always match the recommended ones.
Side Effects
Instalfex and Relief Factor are unlikely to induce adverse effects, and both supplements are generally considered safe for most people. Nevertheless, some light problems may occur.
Stomach discomfort, including symptoms such as bloating, gas, or nausea, is a prevalent adverse effect of these supplements.
I was surprised when Relief Factor caused some mild stomach pain partway through my trial because I hadn’t had issues with any other joint health supplements. My experience with Instaflex was better in terms of side effects, as there were none.
User Reviews
Instaflex is a very popular product on Amazon, and the few thousand reviews provide a complete picture of what real-life users have experienced with it in a wide variety of scenarios.
A product with a score of 4.1 indicates reliability and high satisfaction levels. The number of positive reviews surpasses the number of negative ones.
Nevertheless, most users remark that pain relief is too slow a process, with a significant number reporting noticeable improvements only after two to three months of intake.
Relief Factor has fewer reviews, but the 3000 on the official website are more than enough to learn what users think about it.
The overall score is solid, and there are many happy customers. But quite a few, like me, complain of stomach issues like bloating. Then, many people rightfully say the product is way too expensive for what it provides.
Price
| Joint Supplement | 1 Bottle | 30 Servings / Subscription | 60 Servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instaflex | $29.99 / 14 servings ($2.14/serving) | $57.99 ($1.93/serving) | $116 ($1.93/serving) |
| Relief Factor | $93.95 60 packets (1 month) ($3.13/serving) | $79.95 ($2.67/serving) |
My Experience With Instaflex And Relief Factor
Relief Factor had a positive effect on my knee pain, which was undeniable after one month of intake.
However, I am not impressed by the product, regardless of this.
First, I’ve had better results from other joint supplements that are less expensive than the premium Relief Factor price tag, and second, this was the first time I experienced stomach discomfort from a joint supplement.
Instaflex did not cause side effects but also didn’t do much to alleviate pain. I believe the doses are way too low for it to be effective.
Perhaps if you double the intake or take the pills for three months, it would be much better, but then the price would go up unreasonably.
Should You Choose Instaflex Or Relief Factor?
Relief Factor is the more effective joint health supplement because it contains higher doses of the key components and has a more positive effect on my knee pain.
However, the premium price and high probability of stomach discomfort place it low in my personal joint supplement rankings.
Many consumers indicate that Instaflex provides considerable pain relief, but only after two to three months. This time is required for the substances to accumulate in the body in sufficient quantities to yield meaningful results.
If Instaflex had been cheaper, I would have advised a double dose. However, the price would be approximately $4-5 per day, which is a premium price tag for a joint health supplement. I usually look for the best value from the supplements I spend on.
So, what should you do if both products are not good enough? You can pick FlexAgain, which has much higher doses and more ingredients than either of these two and still costs less than Relief Factor.
FlexAgain
FlexAgain
A powerful, clinically dosed joint supplement to alleviate joint pain and improve joint health.
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References
- Paultre, K., Cade, W., Hernandez, D., Reynolds, J., Greif, D., & Best, T. M. (2021). Therapeutic effects of turmeric or curcumin extract on pain and function for individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 7(1), e000935.
- Razavi, B. M., Ghasemzadeh Rahbardar, M., & Hosseinzadeh, H. (2021). A review of therapeutic potentials of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and its active constituent, curcumin, on inflammatory disorders, pain, and their related patents. Phytotherapy Research, 35(12), 6489-6513.
- Fernández-Lázaro, D., Mielgo-Ayuso, J., Córdova Martínez, A., & Seco-Calvo, J. (2020). Iron and physical activity: Bioavailability enhancers, properties of black pepper (bioperine®) and potential applications. Nutrients, 12(6), 1886.
- Ma, Y., Liu, S., Shu, H., Crawford, J., Xing, Y., & Tao, F. (2020). Resveratrol alleviates temporomandibular joint inflammatory pain by recovering disturbed gut microbiota. Brain, behavior, and immunity, 87, 455-464.
- Marouf, B. H., Hussain, S. A., Ali, Z. S., & Ahmmad, R. S. (2018). Resveratrol supplementation reduces pain and inflammation in knee osteoarthritis patients treated with meloxicam: a randomized placebo-controlled study. Journal of medicinal food, 21(12), 1253-1259.
- Huskisson, E. C., & Donnelly, S. (1999). Hyaluronic acid in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 38(7), 602-607.
- Migliore, A., & Procopio, S. (2015). Effectiveness and utility of hyaluronic acid in osteoarthritis. Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism, 12(1), 31.
- Huskisson, E. C., & Donnelly, S. (1999). Hyaluronic acid in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 38(7), 602-607.
- Miles, E. A., & Calder, P. C. (2012). Influence of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on immune function and a systematic review of their effects on clinical outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. British Journal of Nutrition, 107(S2), S171-S184.
- Shindel, A. W., Xin, Z. C., Lin, G., Fandel, T. M., Huang, Y. C., Banie, L., … & Lue, T. F. (2010). Erectogenic and neurotrophic effects of icariin, a purified extract of horny goat weed (Epimedium spp.) in vitro and in vivo. The journal of sexual medicine, 7(4_Part_1), 1518-1528.
- Kjær, T. N., Ornstrup, M. J., Poulsen, M. M., Jørgensen, J. O. L., Hougaard, D. M., Cohen, A. S., … & Pedersen, S. B. (2015). Resveratrol reduces the levels of circulating androgen precursors but has no effect on, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, PSA
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