Six Smart Ways to Promote Healthy Joints
By Brian Acton
Your joints connect your bones and allow them to move freely, helping your body accomplish just about every physical movement and activity you can imagine. It’s in your best interest to keep them healthy and avoid conditions such as osteoporosis, arthritis, tendonitis and strains.
Even if you have a condition that affects your joints, leading a healthy lifestyle can help you manage it and avoid pain.
Here are six ways to promote healthy joints.
- Getting Exercise
One of the most important ways to promote joint health is to establish a consistent exercise routine. Regular exercise can increase joint stability and flexibility and reduce pain among people with osteoarthritis. A good mix of aerobic exercise and strength training may be beneficial. Aerobic exercise can help you manage your weight (more on that later), and strength training will build the muscles around your joints, giving them extra support.
- Eating Healthy
Combined with an exercise routine, a healthy diet can help you lose weight or maintain your weight and keep your joints healthy. This may include common sense adjustments, such as avoiding junk food and sugar, and eating a balanced diet that contains proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
There are also foods you can eat that are specifically beneficial for your joints. These include omega-3 fatty fish such as salmon, herring, and mackerel, calcium rich food such as dairy, white beans, and broccoli, and Vitamin D-rich foods such as tuna (although sunshine is also a great source of Vitamin D).
- Losing Weight
Over time, extra weight puts too much pressure on your joints, which can wear them down and cause damage. For every pound of excess weight you lose, you remove four pounds of pressure on your knees and six pounds of pressure on your hips. With a healthy diet, an exercise routine, and a weight loss plan, you can shed excess pounds and keep your joints healthy.
- Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Getting a good night’s rest is important, especially if you already suffer from joint pain. Researchers in the U.K. conducted a study that found the strongest predictor of widespread pain - including joint pain -among adults over the age of 50 was quality of sleep. Those who didn’t sleep well were more likely to experience pain than others. If you already suffer from joint pain, try taking steps to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Avoiding Injuries
Injuries can damage your joints and cause temporary pain, but they can also have long-term affects and increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, injuring a joint makes you seven times more likely to develop arthritis. Whether you’re exercising or just doing chores around the house, take care to avoid injuries.
- Quit Smoking
People who smoke have a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, with the risk dramatically increasing with those who have smoked for 20 years or more. That’s in addition to the wide range of other health problems connected to smoking, including cancer, heart disease, COPD, and more. If you quit smoking now, your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions will gradually lessen.
Sources:
https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20959687,00.html#you-can-eat-for-healthy-joints-0
https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2003.33.10.578
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nicotine-dependence/expert-answers/rheumatoid-arthritis-smoking/faq-20119778
https://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/oa-active-18/everyday-exercises-for-oa-slideshow