Exercise to Keep Your Joints Strong
Beyond just making you feel better and healthier, exercise can be an important part of reducing joint pain. And although you may think exercising would actually aggravate stiff joints, it actually does the complete opposite. In order to better protect your joints, the muscles surrounding them should be strengthened—and exercise is a good way to do this. Even simple motions can strengthen joints.
Before beginning or modifying any diet or exercise program, talk to your doctor.
There are two basic types of exercises:
- Stretching exercises help you stay flexible and prevent stiffness and deformities.
- Strengthening exercises make the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that support your joints stronger and make movement less painful.
Tips for beginners:
- Do these exercises slowly, without bouncing or jerking.
- Start with no more than 5 repetitions of each exercise, and take at least 2 weeks to increase to 10 repetitions.
- Do the exercises in an order that keeps you from getting up and down a lot.
- Always do the same number of exercises for both sides.
NEXT PAGE: Stretch & Strengthen Your Back
If you are a resident of Canada, click here
