Our joints, like all parts of our bodies, deteriorate with age. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to protect your joints.
Many people don’t realize how their daily habits and activities are damaging their joints or putting unnecessary stress on them.
Just making small but consistent changes may save you from joint damage and arthritic conditions later on.
Overexertion
Overexertion puts stress on joints and can cause joint injuries. What constitutes overexertion will depend on how fit you are and your age.
For example, those with low fitness may overexert themselves by bending to pick up heavy items. Athletes might overexert themselves during strenuous training.
The starting point for avoiding overexertion is knowing your own physical limitations.
Also, always warm up and stretch before exerting yourself, to help keep your ligaments strong enough to support and stabilize your joints.
Posture
Poor posture is a more serious problem than you may think. You can’t necessarily undo the damage it causes over the long term.
Poor posture can shorten and tighten some muscles, while lengthening and weakening others. In the process, it puts extra strain on your joints.
Maintain good posture whenever you can, and you’ll notice an improvement not only in your comfort, but in your breathing too.
In the long run, good posture will also protect the health of your spine.
Prolonged typing
Whether in the office or at home, prolonged periods of computer or laptop use can put extra strain on the joints in your wrists and hands.
Repetitive strain injury, or RSI, is common because of the repetitive nature of the actions involved in typing,
and because of the artificial angles at which people rest or hold their wrists when using a keyboard and mouse.
If you do spend a lot of time in front of a computer, a wrist guard may be worth considering.
At the very least, investigate purchasing a mouse-pad and keyboard with a wrist-supporting surface.
Prolonged Standing
Spending hours at a time on your feet can stress your joints and cause pain in the lower back, legs and feet.
An easy way to help prevent this is to wear athletic shoes and to avoid lacing them up too tightly.
As a rule of thumb, your shoes should be loose enough to slip off without your having to untie the laces.
Another remedy is to wear insoles in your shoes. Insoles specially crafted for your unique foot shape are preferable – they tend to be better than generic store-bought insoles.
If you have to stay on your feet for long hours as part of your profession, take any opportunity you get during a shift to put your feet up.
As soon as you get home, take off your work shoes and soak your feet in some warm water with Epsom salts.
General Stillness
Without at least some basic regular physical activity, your muscles become weak and offer less support to your joints.
Any form of regular exercise, such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming, can do wonders for your longevity and the health of your joints.
Smoking
Everyone knows that smoking can damage the lungs. However, a lesser known fact is that smoking can greatly increase your risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
A Swedish study found that the risk increased by 100% in people who smoke as little as one to seven cigarettes a day.
If you stop smoking, your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis will drop off significantly.
However, you’ll still have a higher risk of developing the disease than a non-smoker for a period of up to fifteen years after stopping.
Rather than quitting in time, if you can, don’t start at all!
Featured images:
License: Creative Commons
image source
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
License: Creative Commons image source
This post was contributed by natural health blogger Jeff on behalf of BuchuLife.
The herbal health brand offers a joint health product that supports healthy joints and which is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory.