Everything is subject to change as we age, and our joints are no exception. Once sturdy and resilient, joints experience a multitude of natural and medically induced changes that can ultimately influence their biomechanical performance.
However, your joints are indispensable and you need them throughout your life. Hence, rather than allowing age-related factors to impact your joints, you can protect and preserve them for a long time. If you experience recurrent issues with bone health, don’t hesitate to visit the best orthopaedic hospitals for expert care.
Now, let’s take an in-depth look at the tips to enhance joint health by first exploring the importance of joint health as you age.
Why is Joint Health Important as You Age?
Your joints are the pivotal points in your body that allow you to walk, sit, bend, squat, lift, grasp, or even contort yourself as much as your flexibility permits. Joints are made of cartilage, tendons, and ligaments, which connect the bones in your body together.
Every joint contains a special Synovial fluid to reduce friction between bones, thus allowing you to use your joints without experiencing pain or strain. While musculoskeletal changes related to ageing can affect joint health, not all older individuals necessarily experience joint problems.
Let’s explore the best ways to improve joint health.
1. Keep An Optimal Weight: It Is Your Joints’ Best Friend
Excess weight is never good for your body, especially your joints. By nature, they are designed to function best when your body weight is proportionate to your height. Additional weight stresses the joints, particularly in your hips, knees, and ankles.
Therefore, if you weigh more than you should, it is important to start shedding the extra kilos as early as possible. Even a minimal loss of 500 grams takes 4 kilos of pressure off your knees. Always consult your doctor about the best way to lose weight and start today.
2. Exercise Regularly: For Better Flexibility, Gait & Strength
Make exercising an everyday habit. From simple activities like walking to complex ones like swimming, yoga, pilates, or strength training, any activity preserves joint function and enhances joint lubrication and bone density. Strength training exercises help strengthen the muscles around your joints. Also,
regular physical activity is essential for:
- Preventing or reducing joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation.
- Protecting against cartilage damage.
Strengthening your muscles provides better support for your joints. Even a small increase in strength can have a significant impact. Consult a physical therapist or certified trainer to learn which exercises to perform and how to perform them. If you experience joint issues, steer clear of rapid, repetitive movements.
3. Say Goodbye to Smoking: To Minimise Joint Inflammation
Smoking does nothing good for the body, and it badly affects your joints, too. Smoking increases inflammation, thus prolonging the healing process. While quitting can be challenging, it’s essential to know that even a small break from your smoking habit can be a welcoming change to your body.
In fact, within eight hours of quitting, carbon monoxide levels in the blood normalise, and oxygen levels increase, leading to immediate health benefits.
Also Read : Understanding the Connection Between Uric Acid, Gout & Joint Pain
4. Adopt An Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Fight the Inflammation in Your Joints
Inflammation in your body makes you more prone to chronic conditions like arthritis, which is why you need to increase your intake of anti-inflammatory foods like:
- Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries
- Spinach, kale, broccoli and other leafy greens
- Walnuts, chia seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc
- Salmon, sardines, trout, and other fatty fish.
5. Increase Your Water Intake: Its Lubrication is Good For Your Joints
Water intake plays a significant role in keeping your joints well-lubricated with synovial fluid, thereby minimising friction and enabling easy movement. To maintain this lubrication, take at least eight glasses of water and increase your intake during hot weather or intense physical activity. Water can also come from your diet in the form of vegetables and fruits.
6. Maintain a Good Posture: Minimise Stress On Your Joints
Be mindful of how you stand, sit, bend, or lift things since these actions involve multiple joints. Bad posture puts unnecessary strain on your joints, leading to more wear and tear. You can also invest in ergonomic furniture to support proper posture and joint alignment during desk-related activities.
7. Support Your Diet With Supplements: Consult Your Doctor
Your body may require extra supplements besides your diet, especially if you have arthritic symptoms. In such cases, always consult your orthopaedician to determine the right supplements for your body and follow the correct dosage for desired results.
8. Prep and Unwind: The Key to an Effective Workout
A warm-up before your workout and a cooling down session post-workout is mandatory if you do not want to end up with a joint injury. A warm-up prepares your heart and muscles for the workout routine while cooling down allows your body to return to normal. As your heart and breathing rates normalise, you can complete the cooldown process with more exercises or static stretches.
Wrapping Up
Initially, mild joint pain may not seem like too much trouble. However, if the pain worsens, it can limit mobility and impact overall quality of life. Hence, it is vital to care for your joints to support healthy ageing. By consistently adopting these suggestions, you can contribute to preserving your joint health and mobility as you grow older.
Book your appointment with our ortho specialists and get the best treatment from Sri Balaji, the top multispeciality hospital in Chennai.
