Healthy bones and joints are always important, but as you age, this becomes even more crucial in order to protect against serious bone conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis. Making changes to your lifestyle now can lay the groundwork for healthier joints more years to come.
Protect Yourself
Injuries can happen when you’re active, whether you’re rollerblading or playing a contact sport. To prevent injury, don’t forget to wear pads on your elbows, knees and wrists as is needed for your chosen activity.
Keep Moving
It can be easy to let yourself melt into the couch while watching TV or sit at your desk for long periods of time. But getting up and moving around every so often can do wonders for your joint health by eliminating stiffness. Take breaks from your desk periodically and shift positions often when you’re reading or watching TV.
Watch Your Weight
When it comes to joint health, your size makes a difference. Even a few extra pounds can added unnecessary strain on your hips, knees and back. If you’re overweight, talk to your doctor about ways to safely shed those extra pounds.
Take It Easy with Exercise
Low-impact exercise is best for your joints. Choose activities that don’t aggravate your joints, like walking, swimming or biking. Not only will you be treating your joints carefully, you’ll be getting a good cardiovascular workout as well.
Eat Right
For strong bones, incorporate more Calcium into your diet. Low-fat dairy products are an excellent source of calcium, as are green leafy vegetables like broccoli and Brussel sprouts. Also look for calcium-fortified orange juice, cereal and bread.
Work on Posture
To protect your joints from your neck to your knees, make a conscious effort to stand and sit up straight. Even simple activities like walking can improve your posture, and if you walk at brisk pace, your muscles work harder to keep you standing tall.
If you’re concerned about the health of your bones and joints, talk to your doctor. He or she can evaluate your bone density and recommend the best course of action to get you on the right path to optimal joint health.
Maintaining a healthy body weight does more for your joints than any other single change. The force travelling through the knee and hip is several times body weight during walking and stairs, so even modest weight loss produces a disproportionate drop in joint stress.
For most healthy knees running is not inherently damaging, and recreational runners often have better joint health than sedentary people. Problems usually come from sudden increases in mileage, worn footwear or running through pain rather than from running itself.
No. The sound comes from gas bubbles collapsing in the joint fluid and it has not been shown to cause arthritis. Persistent joint pain or swelling is a reason to be evaluated, but knuckle cracking on its own is not.
Low impact activity such as swimming, cycling and elliptical work lets you build fitness without repeated impact loading. Strength training around the joint matters just as much, because stronger muscles absorb force the cartilage would otherwise take.
Joint pain that lasts more than a few weeks, wakes you at night, causes swelling or limits normal activity deserves evaluation. Early assessment usually widens your options, because more non-surgical treatments remain available.
Reviewed by Dr. Richard Scheinberg, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in Santa Barbara with 40 years of surgical experience.
