Joint pain is one of the most common issues to plague modern society — and really, it should come as no surprise.
Your joints describe the parts of your body where your bones meet one another. As a point of articulation, they are what allows your body to move. The main joints of the human body include the shoulders, hips, elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists.
Although your joints allow you to move, they also act as “load distribution centers”. In this manner, they absorb and transfer load through your limbs during movements like jumping, throwing, sprinting, or walking.
Now this is not a bad thing — I mean, if your joints are designed for this purpose.
However, because of their natural role in the human body, they can get a little beaten up over time. This can lead to joint degradation, joint damage, and joint pain.
Which is why we wanted to provide some practical ways you can beat joint pain and get moving for good.
1. Start Weight Training
But wait, wouldn’t that put more load on my joints?
Well, yes — but not in the way you might think.
When people suffer from joint pain they can very easily fall into the trap of avoiding exercise because they are worried it will make it worse. However, this inactivity can lead to a loss of muscle strength, which can actually increase joint pain.
While your joints play a key role in absorbing and distributing force through your limbs, this is a process that is facilitated by your muscles. In short, the stronger your muscles are, the more load they take off of your joints.
As a result, actively participating in weight training and strengthening the muscles around your joints is the perfect method of reducing joint stress. This can also improve joint stability, reducing their risk of becoming degenerative.
And as a bonus, you don’t have to do a lot.
In fact, undertaking 2-3 weight training sessions per week has been shown to cause large reductions in joint pain — making it a great choice.
2. Take the Best Collagen Supplement
Every physical tissue in your body contains a compound known as collagen.
You can think of it as the glue that keeps your cells together. It provides structure to your body’s tissues, ensuring they maintain their shape, strength, and function.
And this is especially true for your cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.
As a result, there is evidence to suggest that taking a collagen supplement can improve joint health and reduce joint degeneration. Over time, this can lead to significant reduction in joint pain and vast improvements in function.
Now, the hard part here is that there are literally thousands of different collagen supplements available on the market — of which, some are much better than others. Which is why we recommend searching through reviews on the best collagen supplement and finding one that suits you best.
3. Mix Up Your Diet
In conjunction with exercise and collagen supplementation, there is also some interesting evidence to suggest that changes in diet can also have a very positive impact on joint pain.
Diets full of the potent antioxidants coming from fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower inflammation throughout the human body. Importantly, this can reduce joint stress, improve joint pain, and even lower your risk of joint degradation.
On the other hand, diets that contain a large amount of highly processed foods, sugar, and trans fats have been shown to increase inflammation, which can have the opposite effect.
With this in mind, if reducing joint pain is your goal, then vegetables, fruits, lean meat, seafood, nuts, grains, beans, and legumes should be a staple in your diet — while packaged and take-away food should not.
4. Go for a Walk
Finally, there is also evidence to suggest that undertaking regular light aerobic exercise can lower sensations of joint stiffness and physically lubricate your joints, which can lead to reductions in chronic joint pain.
As a bonus, light aerobic exercise can also contribute to weight loss, which offers another useful way to reduce the load that is distributed through your joints, causing lasting reductions in joint pain.
Some of the best low-impact aerobic exercise for joint pain include:
- Walking
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Rowing
One thing that’s unimportant to note here is that you do not have to do heaps to have an impact. In fact, as little as 15 minutes power day will cause a noticeable improvement — making it too easy not to do.
Key Points
If you suffer from joint pain, take solace in the fact that it is not a death sentence.
You can cause lasting improvements in joint health by commencing weight training, undertaking some light aerobic exercise, changing your diet, and simply taking the best collagen supplement.
Just be sure to do your research and find the best collagen supplement for you.
