Joint Health

Have you ever stopped and listened to a group of adults when they complain about their bodies? As the years start to tick by one of the biggest complaints that starts to arise is joint pain. Almost every adult will complain about join pain at some point in their lives. But is it just a normal process of aging? Should we all have to suffer and just accept this pain as a natural part of growing old?

Our joints are an integral part of our body, allowing us the gift of movement, a luxury that Barbie never had. In order for a joint to function properly and maintain adequate movement, it needs multiple different parts. Joints are located at the junctions of two or more bones. The bones need to line up in a way that allows movement and have surfaces that will slide across each other without restriction. Between those two bones we often find cartilage that is a soft and flexible form of connective tissue. Some joints in our body are surrounded by joint capsules that is a sort of envelope containing fluid that helps lubricate the joint. Around all this rigid framework of bones and cartilage, we will find ligaments and tendons. Ligaments are short bands of tough, but flexible connective tissue that keeps the joints strong and connected. Tendons are the thin ends of muscles that attach them to our bones. When the muscles contract, they pull the ligaments, tendons, cartilage and bones to work together in a way that bends the joint and we have movement. It’s a pretty complicated process; no wonder Mattel couldn't quite get it done!

When you think of how complicated the process is of actually moving a joint, you can probably just imagine the number of things that can go wrong and produce joint pain. This can vary on a spectrum from minor wear and tear type pain to more severe chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout and osteoarthritis. Also injuries are common to joints from overuse, sports, accidents or falls and these require rehab and treatments to get you back to normal functioning.

Let’s say that the group mentioned above complaining about their joint pain are all without injury or a diagnosed pathology. Then what are they all complaining about? As we age, there are small changes in our joints breaking down the cartilage and connective tissue which can increase risk of joint pain. Remember those daredevil days of youth when we were indestructible and bounced back from injuries and wipeouts without a second thought? The older our joints get, the less elastic and flexible they are so old micro-injuries start to be felt long after we forgot why we thought it was fun to push our bodies to the breaking point. Because our bodies are not as elastic as they were in our youth, we are often more susceptible to feeling minor aches and pains from overuse now or in our past.

So having said that our joints are less elastic as we age, that doesn’t mean we are all doomed to suffer joint pain. There are things we can do to keep our joints healthy and prevent them from becoming susceptible. The more you utilize your joints the more fluids and healing nutrients are passed over them which keep them nice and healthy. Avoid the weekend warrior syndrome by going hard for a few days and then becoming a couch potato the rest of the week or month. Stay active and move your body daily to keep those joints healthy. The more you move a joint the better.

For our joints to stay healthy they also need to receive certain nutrients. Water helps to keep our joints lubricated and sliding smoothly over one another so be sure to drink up your 8-10 glasses daily. Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables prevent build-up of break down products in our joints which can lead to inflammation and pain. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for optimal joint health keeping them well lubricated, low on inflammation and help them heal after overuse. Food sources are fish, seafood, flaxseeds, hemp hearts and chia seeds.

Proper body mechanics are also important to help keep joints healthy and prevent joint pain. When spending long work days at your desk be sure that you have proper posture and ergonomic conditions. Prolonged time spent in incorrect posture puts extra pressure on our joints. Pushing your joints before they are warmed up and ready to go can increase risk of injury and joint pain so it is important to warm up your body before activities. Just as important as it is to warm up, stretching after activity helps to decrease risk of injury and pain.

It’s completely normal to feel a little achiness in a joint after you’ve done a new activity or pushed your body harder than you have in the past, but if you are consistently experiencing joint pain you might want to investigate the cause. Maybe it’s something as simple as tweaking your desk at work, stretching better post-run or increasing certain nutrients in your diet. No one should have to just live with joint pain, no matter their age.
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This article is intended for educational and information purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you require medical advice, diagnostics or treatment, please contact your nearest healthcare professional.