If you have aching joints, or even if you want to take preventative measures, you can take part in a number of activities to protect your joints. Whenever you physically move a body part, you are spurring at least one joint into action. When everything is working as it should, your joints will work with your muscles to move a leg, arm, or another body part without any issues. If you want to avoid or delay this painful experience, you will want to learn about how you can improve your joint health.
Bones should never physically touch one another in a healthy body. That is due to the cartilage between them. Any sort of pressure placed on your body moves into your muscles rather than the joints. One of the unfortunate aspects of aging is that cartilage will wear down. This is when bones have the potential to start grinding up against other bones, causing you unwanted pain and swelling.
After all, once your cartilage goes, it is very difficult to get back, if not impossible. If you want to improve your joint health, then keep reading.
Stay Active
The key to maintaining healthy joints and strong muscles that support them is to stay active. There was a study done that demonstrated that taking 8,000 steps every day would lead to having a 50% greater chance of enjoying a longer life than those who do not. This includes all forms of mobility involving your feet, including walking, running, jumping, and any other physical activity.
The key is to do this long enough and consistently so that you get enough steps in. You can use a pedometer to help keep you on track with the number of steps you take on a given day.
As with any exercise, you should always consult your physician.
Stretch
Staying active is great, but you should also be stretching your muscles. This will increase your flexibility, which benefits your joints by strengthening and lengthening your muscles. Make it a point to stretch regularly.
There are a number of ways this can be done. Yoga and pilates are two of the most common practices people take up when they want to stretch. You can either go to a class or follow along with a video online that guides you through helpful stretches.
Practice Full-Body Exercises
Giving your entire body a workout is key if you want to improve your joint health. If you run to stay mobile, you are staying active, but you are not doing anything to strengthen your upper body. Focusing on one part of the body and neglecting others can lead to you having imbalances in your muscle groups. The worst outcome of this is you experience an injury of some kind.
When you practice a full-body exercise routine, you make sure that all of your muscles have a hand in absorbing the impact of your movements. You avoid a situation where one part of your body will be bearing the brunt of the work to support your joints. You can keep the workout as one that is low-impact, as long as it involves your entire body.
Use Weights
Resistance training using weights will help you develop more muscle around your joints. This helps take some pressure off of them, which is a very effective way to improve your joint health. In fact, your bone density increases when you take part in weight training. When you increase the weight, your bones get thicker in mass.
There are a few options when it comes to using weights. There are your normal weights, such as dumbbells, as well as isolation machines and resistance bands. Whichever option you decide to go with, make sure that you are not taking on too much weight. Also, keep your form correct, so that you are not risking an injury. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a powerful and quick way to develop muscle in all areas of your body.
Don’t Forget a Recovery Regimen
After exercising, you will also want to make sure you are reducing inflammation within your body. There are a number of post-workout recovery options at your disposal. You can stretch after working out or rub Tiger Balm onto your sore muscles. Another increasingly popular option is taking CBD orally or applying it topically to where you feel soreness the most.
Take a Joint Supplement
Finally, an easy way to improve your joint health is to take a joint supplement. However, you should still practice the methods mentioned above. A popular natural joint supplement available today is JointFuel360. This supplement is made using a handful of all-natural ingredients.
Wrapping Up
Don’t wait until joint pain sets in. You can implement strategies for health and wellness over the long term. An active lifestyle, combined with a healthy diet and quality health supplements is a great way to help you keep moving!
* These statements have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
SOURCES:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/ageing-muscles-bones-and-joints
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/staying-healthy/effects-of-aging/
https://www.healthline.com/health/osteoarthritis/understanding-aging-and-joints
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-best-ways-to-safeguard-your-joints-as-you-age/
https://www.healthline.com/health/improving-mobility-in-old-age
https://hcamidwest.com/blog/entry/aging-bone-joints
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/what-it-takes-to-be-agile-at-any-age/art-20390071
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/special-topic/aging-changes-in-the-bones-muscles-joints
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/common-pains-of-age
https://www.bannerhealth.com/staying-well/expert/joint-pain-aging
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https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/staying-healthy/smoking-and-musculoskeletal-health