Simple Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Joints
Are you concerned about your joints? Perhaps you are an athlete, or you may be a person who is concerned about your joints due to a family history of debilitating joint conditions such as arthritis. There are steps you can take to keep your joints as healthy as possible. It is also wise to ensure that you use an orthopedist as a resource for monitoring and treating potential joint problems.
Overexertion
Overexerting your joints could result in injuries. You need to be mindful of putting too much stress on them. Examples of situations where you may be tempted to overexert or put too much stress on your joints are lifting weights or carrying heavy groceries.
Opt to only lift what you can handle rather than pushing yourself to lift heavy weights. Having a workout partner can also aid in ensuring that you have someone there to take the weights off of you if they become a challenge. It is wise to make several trips to and from your vehicle to carry groceries instead of stressing your joints to carry multiple bags.
Proper Use
Use a variety of your joints rather than focusing on using one set. For example, if you need to carry a heavy object, avoid putting too much of the weight on your wrists, which are smaller and weaker joints. It would be better to distribute the weight of the object by using a combination of joints. You can do this by balancing the weight of the object on your forearms allowing your elbows and shoulders to assist carrying the load.
You can avoid injuries to your back and knees by ensuring that you lift properly. Avoid bending over and picking up heavy items using the muscles in your back. Instead, squat and lift heavy objects with your legs, unless you have a known knee injury.
Hold heavy items close to your chest after lifting them to avoid unnecessary back strain. Move your body in controlled movements, and take your time. Jerky, fast, and unstable movements could cause you to damage joints and muscles.
When possible, push, slide, or roll heavy items. This will also aid in placing less strain on your joints.
Light Exercise
Keeping active does not necessarily mean that you have to participate in intense workouts. Light exercise can aid in ensuring that your joints stay healthy. You can do something as simple as flexing each joint. An easy way to do this is to perform range of motion exercises similar to the ones performed in therapy sessions for injured and immobile people to keep their joints and muscles from degenerating.
Supplements and Surgery
Your doctor may decide to prescribe joint health supplements as part of your care if you are at risk for joint damage due to your lifestyle or a debilitating joint condition. The supplements could be prescribed to be used indefinitely or temporarily.
Certain types of joint injuries may require surgical intervention. For example, a serious knee injury from playing sports could result in a person needing to have knee surgery performed. For more information, talk to a professional like Noyes Knee Institute.
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