Tag Archive joints

Byannie

Aging and Joint Problems

Time changes your joints and your entire body. Age modifies each of the structures that make up a joint, and over the span of your life, your joints sustain an enormous amount of wear and tear. You cannot prevent all the changes age brings to your joints, but you can slow the rate of deterioration and minimize the impact on your ability to live an independent and dynamic life.

As you age, the joints become stiffer and less flexible. That’s why, the older you get, the more common it is to encounter aching or mild soreness when you stand, exercise or climb stairs. The body does not recover as fast as it did in your youth.

Many of the age-related changes to joints are caused by absence of activity. Movement of the joint, and the related ‘stress’ of movement, helps keep the fluid moving. Being inactive makes the cartilage to shrink and stiffen, reducing joint mobility.

You cannot bring back cartilage that is already lost… But there are a few easy steps you can take to prevent the war or even reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Keep up a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight to protect your joints. Keeping your weight down will help reduce the small tears that break down cartilage. A weight loss of 11 pounds can reduce arthritis pain by 50% for many women. Weight loss may also slow the progression of osteoarthritis.

Exercise

Keep your body active to reduce stiffness in the joints. Specialists recommend low- or no-impact aerobic exercises, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.

Add ice

Icing your joints after exercise can prevent swelling and help you manage pain. When you are active, you draw a lubricant called synovial fluid to your joints. Bear in mind that if the fluid sticks around too long after exercise, it can cause cracks in the cartilage. Specialists suggest icing the joints you use during exercise for 10 min after the activity.

Eat superfood

Research shows that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can help to reduce the symptoms that cause joint pain. They also change the levels of inflammation that may be causing some of the pain. Fish oil slows the generation of inflammation-signalling cells. The best sources are fish such as tuna and salmon. Studies prove that vitamin D may help protect your joints, too, via an anti-inflammatory effect. Ensure you get 400-800 International Units of vitamin D daily.

Bycleverhealthtips

The Best Activities for Those With Joint Issues

On the whole, doctors will tell you that exercise is good for you. And they are right! You are likely acquainted with the general health advantages of exercise: improved circulation, heart health, and lower blood pressure are only a few reasons to keep active, even when you are feeling pain or mobility problems.

However, for those with joint issues like arthritis and arthralgia, engaging in low-impact, moderate-intensity exercise can bring extra benefits that may enhance your quality of life.

The following exercises will not put excessive strain on the joints. Try to incorporate activities from each category into your daily routine for best results.

Every individual with joint pain and arthritis is different. Do what you can, when you can, and consult a doctor to determine what is safe and reasonable for you.

Cardio Activities

Aerobic exercise is any conditioning exercise that raises your heart rate over its normal resting rate. A reasonable target is to practice so that you are breathing harder than regular but are still able to carry on a conversation.

30 minutes per day of aerobic exercise is perfect, but 150 minutes for a week is the recommended minimum.
You can finish your aerobic activities all in one session, or you can work it into your day in short multiple sessions, for example – 15 minutes of bike riding and 15 minutes of yard work.

Strengthening Activities

Strengthening your muscles is essential, especially for people with osteoarthritis – stronger muscles can help to take some of the pressure off your joints.

Aim to perform strengthening exercises 2 times per week. Involve all the major muscle groups of the body (back, chest, arms, shoulders, hips and legs). Practice your strength training routine at home or in a gym.

Balance Activities

Those with arthritis and joint pain, especially people with ankle, knee and hip issues, may struggle with deteriorating balance. Keeping up balance is important to older people, as sustaining a fall will probably result in a debilitating injury, particularly if you have decreased bone thickness due to osteoporosis.

When designing your activity, consult with your GP, try to practice balance exercises at least twice per week. Balance training does not have to take much time.

Flexibility Training

A stretching regimen is a basic part of physical activity, especially in people with joint issues. If your joints are getting painful and stiff, regular exercises may get more difficult after some time.

Stretching your muscles with dynamic stretches after your daily practice is a good way to boost your flexibility and hold your range of motion.  Ask your trainer for a list of flexibility exercises perfect for your particular joint problems.

However, if you have joint issues you should avoid some sports, such as dancing, baseball, hockey, soccer, rugby and tennis.

Bycleverhealthtips

Take Care of Your Joints!

Anyone who has been working out for some time knows the importance that joints have in one’s capacity to keep training hard. The abilities to lift heavy weights and to perform body exercises becomes limited if the joints aren’t operating at their peak. Also, without taking care of your joints, your bones will hurt when rubbing against each other.

We shouldn’t wait until we have joint inflammation to take action. Use these simple tips to prevent pain and possibly even arthritis.

Use your big joints

Use your big joints to carry heavy objects. Try not to carry big shopping bag with your fingertips. Put it over your forearm or shoulder instead. Also, you should carry a large pot by putting your hands (while wearing gloves) under the handles, grasping the side of the pot, rather than the handles.

Do exercise

The pain in joints may make you hesitant to work out. However, research shows that stiffness get worse when you are not training enough. You should do aerobic exercise every day. When your heart is pumping you will boost your blood flow. Thus the cartilage will be well nourished. And there is an extra advantage – doing exercise helps you reach a healthy weight.

Don’t carry – push

When carrying objects, put them close to your body. Bend your knees rather than your back when lifting things. Don’t carry heavy objects – push them. It is better to use a shopping trolley instead of a heavy basket. Buy a suitcase that has wheels, so that you don’t have to carry a heavy suitcase. And keep in mind – don’t carry more than 25 kg.

Lose weight

You won’t simply look good, your body will feel better, as well. Each extra pound you gain puts four times the weight on your knees. On the contrary, even a small amount of weight reduction will give your knees relief. Research has shown that losing as little as 11 pounds may enhance your joint health and minimize the risk of osteoarthritis of the knee by 50%.

Stretch your body every day

Stretching will help you improve your ability to move your joints. It fights stiffness and also helps protect the cartilage from wear and tear. There are many types of stretches that can help keep your joints healthy, but the four most common are static, ballistic, dynamic and P.N.F. Ignoring issues related to the joints may cause problems not immediately, but with age sooner or later you’ll feel it.

Bycleverhealthtips

Seriousness of joint issues.

Whether you tried too hard on the soccer playground or have been typing on the phone and writing on the keyboard for hours, there are many reasons why your joints are in pain. The joints play a major role in our body – they are the connections between bones. They support us and help us to move. Any harm to the joints (injury or disease) can be very painful.

Here are some conditions that could be making your joints achy.

Gout

Excess of protein can be hard on your joints. If you eat too much food high in protein, your body produces a lot of uric acid. Thus, the acid cannot be excreted from your body and this causes a serious inflammatory reaction. It is called gout – one of the most painful types of arthritis.

The symptoms of gout are – swelling, heat, redness, and hard pain in your big toe.

Lupus

This immune system issue can wreck all your joints if left untreated. Individuals with lupus have an overactive immune system that can target joints, blood, skin, kidneys or other organs. Along with painful and swollen joints you can develop a butterfly-shaped rash across your cheeks.

The symptoms of lupus can vary from dry mouth and eyes to memory problems and hair loss.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is different than the wear-and-tear kind (osteoarthritis) that usually develops with age. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune system disorder, and it disproportionately targets women. Of the more than 1.3 million individuals who have it, 75% are ladies.

The symptoms of RA are tender joints, fatigue, weight loss and feeling stiff.

If you feel pain in the joint that persists more than a week, it ought to be examined by a healthcare practitioner. Keep in mind – the severe pain in the joint should be medically evaluated as soon as possible.