Top tips for joint health

Author - Wagner

Healthy joints rely on healthy lifestyles. Learn about 4 positive lifestyle changes you can adopt to help you better manage your joint health.

Osteoarthritic or other arthritic joint problems can leave you feeling helpless, as though there’s nothing you can do to ease the pain or improve mobility. Your world can seem to get smaller as your own body increasingly limits you. This can create a self-perpetuating cycle.

Here are some self-help tips that can improve your range of movement, reduce joint swelling, ease pain, and improve your quality of life.

Lose weight if you need to

Inactivity can cause weight gain. This increases pressure on joints, and can worsen joint pain. Every extra half-kilo you put on places four times more stress on your knees1.  So if you know your weight is higher than it should be, create a sensible, healthy diet and exercise plan to reduce it.

Move it or lose it

Movement is good for your joints. Yoga, aqua-jogging or aqua-aerobics, walking, swimming, hiking, gardening, and Tai Chi are all low impact activities. Choose things that give you pleasure, so you will be more likely to stick to them.

Doing some form of exercise daily will have many benefits, such as:

  • Improving the range of movement in your joints
  • Encouraging blood flow to the area, which brings nutrients with it
  • Stimulating your body and mind
  • Supporting your joints with greater muscle strength
  • Assisting weight loss, which places less stress on your weight bearing joints

It’s normal to feel some discomfort in muscles if you’re not used to exercise, but if you feel pain in your joints and they still hurt two hours afterwards, you have overdone it. Ease up a bit or try a different type of exercise to suit you. Remember: exercise should be enjoyable, not painful.

Eat joint-healthy foods

Eat more Sulfur-containing foods such as:

  • The brassica family: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnip, kale and mustard greens
  • Eggs
  • Garlic, spring onion, red and brown onion.
  • Asparagus, watercress, swiss chard, silver beet

Sulfur helps your body to repair and rebuild bone, cartilage and connective tissue. It also aids Calcium absorption2.

Brightly coloured vegetables and fruits are full of nutrients and antioxidants that are important for joint health.

Oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, and herrings are high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids. These compounds help to lubricate and cushion joints, and provide anti-inflammatory activity.

Positive outlook

Mind over matter really can work! How you feel about your condition can have a huge impact on how you cope with it, deal with pain, and get on with life.

Meditation, breathing techniques, yoga can all help you cope with pain, improve your outlook and enjoy life.

Finally, don’t isolate yourself, as this can have a negative impact on your mood, and consequently your health. Ask for help if you need it, join a support group, and actively involve yourself in the community. Small steps can create big changes.

References

1. http://www.arthritistoday.org/treatments/self-treatments/joint-health.php
2. Balch Phyllis A., Balch James F. Prescription for Nutritional Healing Third Edition. 2000 Penguin Putnam Inc.