Shilajit for Bones and Joints: What the Research Shows

Shilajit (salajeet) is one of the few supplements with human trials on bones: in postmenopausal women it slowed bone loss over 48 weeks, and after shin-bone surgery fractures healed about 24 days sooner. For joint pain and arthritis there are no human trials yet. It can sit alongside calcium, vitamin D and exercise, not replace them.

In traditional medicine across Central and South Asia, Shilajit (salajeet, or momiai in Persian) has long been given after bone injuries. Unusually for a traditional remedy, there are now two randomised human trials on bones. This article explains what they found.

Why bones are a plausible target

Bone is mostly calcium and phosphate, kept healthy by a constant cycle of building and breaking down. After menopause, falling estrogen speeds up the breakdown and bones thin. Shilajit contains calcium, magnesium and other minerals (about a fifth of its weight), plus fulvic acid and smaller compounds that may affect inflammation (Kamgar et al., 2025). The minerals in a 500 mg dose are small amounts, though, so any effect is more likely to come from the active compounds than from the calcium itself.

Trial 1: bone loss after menopause

Researchers in India gave 60 postmenopausal women with low bone density either 250 mg or 500 mg of purified Shilajit a day, or a placebo, for 48 weeks (Pingali & Nutalapati, 2022).

• Bone density fell less in both Shilajit groups than in the placebo group.
• Markers of inflammation in the blood were lower with Shilajit.
• The higher dose gave somewhat better results.

The trial was small and used one commercial extract, so results with other products may differ.

Trial 2: healing after a fracture

In Iran, 160 adults who had surgery for a fracture of the shin bone (tibia) took either Shilajit (momiai) or a placebo (Sadeghi et al., 2020).

• Bones healed in an average of 129 days with Shilajit, compared with 153 days with placebo.
• There were no extra side effects.

Healing three weeks sooner would matter to anyone in a cast. But this is a single trial, and fracture care should always follow your surgeon’s advice.

What about joint pain and arthritis?

Joint pain (joron ka dard) is one of the most common reasons older people ask about salajeet. Here the evidence is thinner. No trial has tested Shilajit in people with arthritis or knee pain. What exists is indirect: in the menopause trial, blood markers of inflammation were lower with Shilajit, and in trained men 500 to 1,000 mg a day raised a marker of collagen production, the protein in cartilage and tendons (Neltner et al., 2024). That is a reason to study joints, not proof that it eases pain.

People with gout, a type of arthritis caused by uric acid, are usually advised to avoid Shilajit; see salajeet ke nuksan. For joint pain, see a doctor first, because the cause decides the treatment.

What this means for you

• Encouraging, not proven. Two trials with positive results is more than most supplements have, but it is not enough to call Shilajit a bone treatment.
• The basics come first. Calcium from milk, yoghurt and daal, vitamin D from sunlight or supplements, weight-bearing exercise and, where needed, medicine from your doctor.
• Dose: the menopause trial used 250 to 500 mg a day, the usual range. See how to take Shilajit.
• Quality: use purified resin with a published heavy-metal test (ours is here) and learn how to read a lab report.

Women thinking about Shilajit after menopause will find more in Shilajit for women: benefits, dosage and safety (Roman Urdu: salajeet ke fayde auraton ke liye).

The bottom line

Bone health is one of the better-supported uses of Shilajit, with two small human trials showing slower bone loss and faster fracture healing. Treat it as a possible helper alongside proven care, not a replacement. For all the evidence in one place, read Shilajit benefits: what the research says.

New to Shilajit? Start with the complete guide to Himalayan Shilajit.