| In the United States, one in three adults | | | | 5. Don't over exercise - Regardless of the |
| suffer from some form of chronic joint pain. | | | | type of exercise you do, or how heavy your |
| Most of these joint pain problems can be | | | | workout is, your body needs time to repair. |
| reduced or avoided completely with just some | | | | Someone who does hours of intense exercising |
| basic changes in our everday lifestyles. This | | | | daily will have more problems with chronic |
| article is designed to give you tips and | | | | joint pain than someone who allows their body |
| advice that can help. | | | | to recuperate. Your muscles, tendons and |
| | | | ligaments all need time to rest and repair |
| 1. Lose weight - Carrying around extra body | | | | after a hard workout. That's what causes them |
| weight creates severe strains on your joints, | | | | to strengthen over time. |
| particularly the knee joints. You can | | | | |
| drastically reduce the amount of pain you | | | | 6. Change Positions - Even if you don't |
| feel in those joints by simply losing weight. | | | | workout, your job or daily routines could be |
| In fact, losing as little as ten pounds of | | | | the cause of chronic joint pain. Sitting or |
| body weight can help improve the joint pain | | | | standing all day are examples of routines |
| problems almost immediately. | | | | that can cause joint pain. Try to vary your |
| | | | routine a bit, to give both your body and |
| 2. Stretch first - If you exercise a lot, and | | | | your joints variety and rest periods. |
| particularly if you work hard to build | | | | |
| muscle, you need to be sure you stretch | | | | 7. Get Better Shoes - Women who wear high |
| first. Many bodybuilding and weight lifting | | | | heeled shoes have 7-10 times greater chances |
| related joint pain problems are caused by | | | | of developing joint pain and problems. If |
| tendonitis, which is an inflamation or | | | | you're in love with super high heeled shoes, |
| irritation of the tendons. This type of joint | | | | at least try to vary the height regularly. |
| pain can be reduced or eliminated by | | | | Wear one inch heels for a day, then two inch |
| stretching, because you'll warm up your | | | | heels another day and so on. It's best if you |
| tendons before working them too hard, and | | | | simply stick to heels lower than three inches |
| they'll be more flexible and able to handle | | | | though. |
| the added weight or exercise loads you're | | | | |
| putting on them. | | | | Likewise, if you wear tennis other other |
| | | | types of shoes, you need to make sure they |
| 3. Warm Up - This tip also applies to anyone | | | | fit properly. Your toes should not be |
| who exercises or lifts weights regularly. | | | | cramped, and there should be the proper |
| Your body needs to be warmed up properly in | | | | amount of arch support. Your shoes should |
| order to work properly and avoid excess | | | | also have some sort of cushion, particularly |
| injuries. Warming up allows your tendons to | | | | under the ball and heel areas of your feet. |
| flex and become more supple, allows the | | | | |
| muscles to loosen up and work better, and | | | | 8. Get Your Supplements - Making sure you're |
| gets the blood flowing through your body. | | | | getting enough of the required vitamins, |
| | | | minerals and supplements is one of the best |
| 4. Change Exercises - Whether you're an advid | | | | ways to help reduce, eliminate, and even |
| or occasional exerciser, you might want to | | | | prevent chronic joint pain. Calcium is |
| consider changing the type of exercise you | | | | important to keep your bones strong, and |
| do. Impact style exercising such as step | | | | strong bones keep your joints healthy. You |
| aerobics or kick boxing is much harder on | | | | also need plenty of vitamin C and |
| your joints, and can cause a lot more pain | | | | anti-oxidents. Fish oil and flax oil provide |
| and problems. Change to exercises such as | | | | omega-3 fatty acids, which work wonders for |
| yoga and water based workouts to take the | | | | keeping your joints in optimum health, and |
| load off your joints and help prevent more | | | | glucosamine helps improve joint flexibility, |
| pain problems. | | | | as well as helping to rebuild joint |
| | | | cartilage. |