Joints are found throughout your body and allow for your body to move and function on a daily basis. Your hips, knees, ankles, and foot joints all act harmoniously with your muscles to coordinate walking. The same goes for the joints in your arms and back. Joint structures are vital to all of your everyday tasks whether you know it or not.
Unfortunately, the number of adults suffering from severe joint pain is continuing to increase. With this statistic in mind, people are starting to search for ways to minimize joint issues later on in life.
While there are no sure ways to completely eliminate the chances of developing joint-related ailments later on in life, there are many things you can do to minimize your risk by promoting joint health.
Stay Active
Staying active is an important aspect of retaining good joint health. The movement and utilization of joints keep your joints in tip-top shape and keeps them strong and healthy. It may seem counterintuitive that the more you use your joints the healthier they are, but there is a good reason why movement improves joint health.
It’s very important to keep the cartilage that makes up the joint healthy to prevent pain and injury. In order to keep this cartilage healthy, it needs the synovial fluid within the joint to supply it with nutrients. Movement is what ensures the cartilage is coming in contact with the synovial fluid, so you want to make sure that you are moving throughout the day to keep your joints healthy.
Moving your joints is helpful, but make sure you do not overwork them as well. Too much strain on the joints can cause degradation and injury, so try your best to find a happy medium.
Supportive Footwear
Choosing supportive footwear is also an important way to ensure that your joints stay healthy. Flat shoes or high heels may be stylish and aesthetically pleasing, but they are not guaranteed to keep your joints in shape. These stylish shoes throw function out of the window and make your joints take extra impact than necessary.
Choosing supportive footwear does not have to mean wearing your grandma’s clogs, you simply need a shoe that is able to absorb some shock and keep all of the impact from your joints. An example of this is a moderate arch with a thick midsole. This absorbs the shock with every movement to reduce the impact on your joints. Supportive insoles are also another option if you would like to choose a fashionable shoe with minimal support.
You can buy supportive footwear from any drug store or superstore, but if you need extra support, your doctor can always write you a prescription for special shoes just for you and your foot and joint needs.
Stretch
Stretching is a great way to reduce the chance of getting joint injuries, which can support joint health in the long term. While you cannot technically stretch your joints, you can stretch the muscles and tendons around them. These muscles and tendons are what support the joint and give it stability to prevent it from moving out of place.
By consistently and appropriately stretching, your muscles and tendons can move without as much restriction and are able to make movements more comfortably. A quality stretch routine that focuses on all of the major joints in the body is essential to joint health.
Yoga is an excellent way to incorporate stretch and strength training to keep your body and joints healthy. A good rule of thumb is a little bit of stretching each and every day.
Stay Hydrated
When you think about staying hydrated you usually think about having glowing skin or keeping headaches at bay, but joints need to be properly hydrated as well.
Staying adequately hydrated can ensure your joints are lubricated properly. Keeping your joints well lubricated ensures they can move without struggle and are not creating any unnecessary friction.
Hydration does not have to just come from water either. You can make it fun by drinking teas, smoothies, milk, or even by eating foods with high water contents such as fruits and vegetables.
Hydration also has many other benefits as well, so you will be promoting your overall health while also promoting healthy joints. There are some key signs to recognize that you may need to drink more water: dark urine, less urine than usual, dry skin, feeling thirsty, and dry lips are all indications that you may need to be hydrating more often.
Joint Supplements
Sometimes your body just needs a little extra boost. Especially as you age, your body can need more support, and joint supplements can be very helpful in supporting your joint health. This is a simple practice that you can incorporate into your daily routine to support your joints and keep them functioning as strong as possible. As always, it is advised to collaborate with your healthcare provider to determine if joint supplements fit into your current wellness routine.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are 2 of the most common joint supplement ingredients. These ingredients are important in the structure of cartilage. Because cartilage is a big part of the joint, it is no wonder they are essential in supporting joint health. Hemp powder, turmeric, and MSN also added to Hempvana Joint Support Supplements on top of glucosamine and chondroitin and can help to prevent inflammation that can make your joints painful and stiff. With such a great formula, you can feel confident in your choices to support your joint health.
Listen To Your Body
Your body can tell you a lot more about what is going on inside of it than you may give it credit for. The way you are feeling physically or emotionally gives you a message into what you can change. This is also applicable to your joints.
One of the simplest tricks to joint health is to listen to your body if it’s sending messages about your joints. If your joints are feeling tired, sore, weak, or in pain, they are probably trying to tell you to take a break. Before something bad happens to your joints there is usually a sign to take it easy. Do not disregard these signs and stop whatever overexertion you’re doing before it is too late.
When your body tells you to take a rest you can take the time to do some joint self-care by icing your sore spots to reduce inflammation. Apply an ice pack or Hempvana’s Cold As Ice Pain Relief Roll-on Gel. This can help provide cooling relief, allowing your joint to rest before it is ready to get back to the action.
Minimize High Impact Activities
High impact activities create unnecessary strain on your joints by compressing the joint and wearing away the integrity of the joint itself. Some common high impact activities to avoid when possible include skiing, jumping, basketball, and running.
It is okay to do these activities every once in a while, but if you continue these too frequently in the long term you can expect to see some form of joint damage. If you do decide to participate in high impact sports, do your due diligence to take care of your joints, including elevating your legs with a device like the Hempvana Leg Ramp as soon as you feel like you’ve sprained something.
If possible, focus on mixing in low impact activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, and pilates. These exercises limit the stress on your joints and can still provide you with an effective workout for your whole body. These activities are also perfect for doing with those that you care about since they are a little more slow-paced and can accommodate those of all activity levels.
Conclusion
Overall there are some great simple tricks to keeping your joints healthy from supplements to specific activities to drinking the right amount of water. When taking care of your joints properly you cannot just choose one trick to follow and expect your joints to be in the best shape. Instead, you have to do a combination of many best practices to have the highest level of joint health possible.
Also, do your best to not take on too many new habits at once. Joint health is a marathon, not a sprint, so take the time to develop one good habit at a time. Start with something simple like drinking more water then move on to something that requires more commitment. Once you feel confident with one you are probably ready to get started on adding another one to your routine. If you are still unsure of which practices to follow, have a conversation with your doctor to decide what will be most beneficial for you.