How to protect your joints as you age

As we grow older, we can find that our body just doesn’t work like it used to. One of the persistent pain areas in later life are the joints, which, as time goes on, can become painful and stiff. This happens naturally, but medical conditions like arthritis can amplify the problems tenfold.

If you are wondering how to protect your joints from arthritis or are looking for tips to reduce pain in your joints as you age, read on to discover the top pieces of advice.

Focus on exercise

Whether you are a lover of strength training or prefer a morning jog, enjoying exercise can not only help to protect your joints but has myriad other benefits too. Just 30 minutes a day can make all the difference and help to keep your joints healthy.

When focusing on joint protection for arthritis, it can be wise to make your daily activities low-impact exercises such as swimming, walking or yoga. These exercises don’t put too much pressure on your body due to their nature but can help keep you in good shape.

And, if you are new to exercise or have taken a long time out, be sure to start slowly to not overload your body. You might even want to enlist the help of a physical therapist who can offer tailored advice and guidance to you based on your needs.

READ MORE: Yoga for seniors – tips and advice

Manage your weight

One thing to ensure when you are trying to prevent joint pain is that your weight is in a healthy range – not massively over or under where it’s expected to be. For those whose weight is sitting higher than it maybe should be, you’ll find the extra pounds are putting more stress on your joints and weight loss might be something that makes a big difference.

Harvard Health Publishing explains the impact of extra weight: “Let's look at weight and your knees. When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline, and the pressure is even greater: the force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped.”

If you can lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight, you’ll be able to improve your quality of life and it can help with managing arthritis and painful joints.

READ MORE: Healthy breakfast ideas for older people

Give up smoking

They may seem like two unconnected things but giving up smoking can actually help to reduce your joint pain. There are a range of ways that smoking can make your joint pain worse. Firstly, although in the short-term, nicotine might make it so you don’t experience pain as strongly, once the feeling wears off you’ll be hit again with that pain, making it feel more intense. Secondly, smoking affects how your circulation works, making it harder for your body to transfer nutrients to muscles and joints.

There is also a direct link between smoking and rheumatoid arthritis. The more you smoke, the higher the chances of you getting the illness are. And, as both smoking and rheumatoid arthritis increase inflammation, together they can be a bad combo.

Keep track of your supplements

One of the final lifestyle adjustments you can make to help with joint pain is taking supplements. There are some supplements which have been known to help with the symptoms of joint pain, especially those caused by arthritis when used alongside traditional treatments.

The Arthritis Foundation talk about this: “Several nutritional supplements have shown promise for relieving pain, stiffness and other arthritis symptoms. Glucosamine and chondroitin, omega-3 fatty acids, SAM-e and curcumin are just some of the natural products researchers have studied for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.”

Use mobility devices to help you

Another way to help minimise the pain you’re experiencing is to utilise mobility devices to relieve the pressure on your joints. Whether you look at stairlift prices to get some help around the home or consider a scooter whilst out and about, by using mobility aids you can keep moving whilst not putting more pressure on your joints.

Especially with home aids like stairlifts, if you’re feeling lethargic from the day, you’ll still be able to move around your home without having challenges like stairs to deal with.

How to protect your joints as you age:

• Focus on exercise
• Manage your weight
• Give up smoking
• Keep track of your supplements
• Use mobility devices to help you

Experiencing joint pain as you age isn’t something that needs to be a given, and with some small lifestyle changes, you can help manage your pain and symptoms.

If you are looking for more useful articles on similar topics, be sure to check out our blog.