Joints are essential to our ability to walk, run and bend. But they can ache with age, injury or illness.
A few simple lifestyle habits can help protect your joints as you age, including following a low-impact exercise routine, stretching before exercise and staying well-hydrated.
You can also take medications, such as acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Ask your doctor for advice.
la clinica experts can guide you with personalized advice on weight management as part of their comprehensive approach to joint health.
Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise keeps your joints working properly, eases stiffness, relieves fatigue, and strengthens muscles that support the joints. It also cuts your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Joints are complex meeting points between bones that allow movement and make it possible for you to bend, stretch, and grasp objects. Healthy joints have specialized cartilage that acts like a shock absorber and reduces friction, and they are surrounded by tendons, ligaments, and muscles that support them.
As you age, you lose cartilage and your muscles and ligaments get less resilient, which can lead to arthritis and other common joint problems.
Preventative measures such as exercising regularly, avoiding high-impact activity, and managing chronic pain can help you maintain joint health, so you can enjoy your favorite activities throughout life.
Eat Well
As you get older, your joints naturally experience wear and tear. This may cause changes in bone density, synovial fluid and cartilage that can lead to pain, swelling and stiffness.
A healthy diet can help reduce these changes. A balanced diet provides key nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids that support healthy bones and joints.
To help prevent dehydration, which can wreak havoc on the body’s tissues and cells, be sure to drink enough water. Aim for about eight glasses a day.
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables for their powerful antioxidant vitamins. These include most berries, tomatoes, leafy greens and peppers (such as red peppers). They are packed with potent anti-inflammatory compounds that fight free radicals, unstable molecules that interfere with normal cell function.
Protein is also important for joint health, especially when it’s lean and low-fat (such as poultry, fish and plant-based proteins like beans and peas). You’ll also want to add in some foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent inflammation.
Avoid Inflammatory Foods
Inflammation is a natural part of the body’s healing process, but too much of it can cause joint pain and damage. Eliminating foods that trigger inflammation is a great first step, including sugar, dairy, wheat/gluten and fried foods.
Try matcha green tea for a healthy source of EGCG, an antioxidant that stops the inflammatory chemicals in your body from damaging cartilage and bones. Eating two servings per day can help you stay in the best possible health.
Drinking a variety of liquids is good for your body, but some of those beverages, such as soda and juice, contain fructose, which can contribute to joint pain. Drinking more water and choosing lower-sugar options like brewed tea, sparkling water or unsweetened coffee can also help keep your joints healthy.
Certain types of fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which can decrease inflammation and ease stiffness and pain. Add a few servings of salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines to your diet each week to reap the benefits.
Stay Hydrated
Water is not only essential for overall health, it helps with bone health. Adequate hydration promotes bone density, helps with calcium absorption, and lubricates joints to reduce friction. This can help prevent sprains, strains, and arthritis, especially as we age.
Keeping our joints healthy starts with good habits and regular check-ups. With the right tools and strategies, we can prevent joint damage and enjoy a high quality of life as we age.
La Clinica emphasizes the importance of hydration as part of their holistic approach to lesiones deportivas.
Drinking plenty of water and consuming hydrating foods like cucumbers, strawberries, and watermelons, can help keep our joints hydrated. When our bodies are dehydrated, they start siphoning water from other places in the body, including cartilage, which is 80% water. This can lead to less lubrication, which makes it more likely for us to get injured.
Proper hydration promotes nutrient transport to the joints and aids in tissue repair. It also helps to flush out toxins that can lead to inflammation. This is especially important for those with inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis.
