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Feeling stiff after a long run? Or is it a condition you feel most days? Whatever the reason, stiff joints can make doing everyday tasks a real pain in the backside.
However, with the right type of nutrition and a few top tips, you might be able to loosen up your joints a little more. Here are our four recommendations to get you started.
Handpicked content: How to get the perfect combination of diet and exercise
If you are experiencing joint pain, steer clear of anything high-impact in which both feet hit the ground with force – like running, aerobics, vigorous dancing, tennis and squash13 – as this can stress the joints.
It can be tempting to avoid exercise when you’re experiencing joint pain for fear of making any swelling or stiffness worse.
However, reducing your activity and movement is not the answer, and in fact, not being active enough can actually bring on more pain.
There are various reasons why you might have pain in your joints. Common issues such as osteoarthritis- which is caused by the wearing down of cartilage- are often to blame.
However, the cartilage itself can’t feel pain as it has no nerve tissues. Therefore, the pain you feel is generally a result of the inflammation of the connective tissues, ligaments or tendons surrounding the joint.
You may be nervous to increase your levels of exercise if you’re experiencing joint inflammation. However, the most important thing to remember is that your body needs to stay active, and exercise offers a range of benefits that could help ease your symptoms.
It’s best to participate in low or moderate-impact exercises so as not to put too much pressure on the joints.
This means that high-impact exercises such as sprinting is to be avoided during episodes of joint pain as they could put undue stress on the tissues surrounding your joints.
Low-impact exercise refers to an activity where the body is fully supported, such as yoga, cross-training and swimming.
This category also includes moderate-impact exercises where one foot generally stays in contact with the ground or a machine, such as brisk walking, or stepping.
High-intensity exercise are more vigorous and tend to involve both feet leaving the ground at the same time, such as skipping, squash, football and sprinting, which can be too much for inflamed joints.
Along with choosing low-to moderate impact exercises, it’s a good idea to incorporate three sub-types of exercise into your routine- cardiovascular exercise, strength training and movements which enhance flexibility such as yoga.
Cardio refers to any aerobic exercise which gets your heart pumping and your body using oxygen.
Examples of low and medium-impact cardio exercises that are great to do when you have joint pain include cycling, swimming, cross-training and fast walking.
Cardio is great for lowering your body fat which reduces the pressure on your joints and keeps inflammation down.
Weight-bearing movements such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses help keep the muscles arounds the joints strong and could help to decrease your pain levels.
Conditions that cause joint inflammation- such as rheumatoid arthritis- affect muscle mass and strength.
Over time this could lead to disability, so it’s important to target muscles that could have become weak due to under-use.
Studies have shown significant improvement in the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis when following resistance-based exercise therapy programs.
It’s a good idea to vary your routine, and don’t exercise the same muscles every time you work out.