How to Keep Your Joints Healthy

Taking care of your body is important in order to live a long and healthy life. Your joints are the key to helping you move around, as they happen to be the connecting segment between your bones. This includes elbows, knees, wrists, fingers, and hips. As we age, these joints have more wear and tear on them, making it harder for them to roll, bend or move the way they were designed to. To prevent replacement body parts, surgery or worse, you need to take care of your joints. Proper joint health is a key to keeping them healthy, and in turn keeping you moving without pain, when you need to.

There are four simple steps for good joint health:

1. Proper Weight
2. Plenty of Exercise
3. Posture
4. Supplements

Proper Weight

Weight can be an issue for joint health, and the closer you are to a healthy weight level the better. Obesity plays a factor in your overall health anyway, so it is a good idea to lose weight when necessary to prevent problems with your joints. The more weight you have, the more pressure you are putting on those joints, causing them to work harder than they should have to.

Plenty of Exercise

Exercise is a great way to help with joint health, as well as many other health problems. It not only motivates you to be healthier, but it gets you out of the house. Joints are designed to move, and if they are left idle, it can cause just as much damage as over use. However the right amount of use, such as some light weights, walking or jogging, can push the joints for just the right amount of movement to keep them working properly. Lifting weights, leg presses and anything that helps build muscle mass are great ways to increase your joint health due to the fact that more muscle means less stress on the joints.

Posture

Posture can play an important factor in joint health, whether you are sitting or moving. Sitting up straight, and not slouching can help the movement in your joints from your neck down to your toes. Slouching can cause undue pressure on your joints, or wear them out in one location or another. The same can be said for lifting or moving objects. When lifting the right way, such as with your legs, you are putting the right amount of pressure where it needs to be, instead of lifting with your back which can damage your joints.

Supplements

Using the right supplements can help improve the health of your joints, and help you to maintain their healthy level. Combining the right amounts of calcium and vitamin D is the perfect way to get back on the road to healthy joints. Between the two of those, you get strong bones and muscles. Add some glucosamine and chondroitin to your diet for healthy cartilage and you get the right mix of supplements to help improve your diet and your joint health.

Combine the right amount of supplements with diet and exercise and you will have a winning combination of proper joint health. Seek the advice of a doctor to assure you're taking the correct dosage needed to fulfil your nutritional needs. Also, know your limits when it comes to exercise so you don't overdo it.

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