How to keep your joints healthy & strong

We all have a visual of walking with a stick in our 70s, but it looks like our generation is going to end up their in 40s itself due to our long sitting hours, sedentary lifestyle, poor eating habits, lack of physical activity, etc. All of us are suffering from neck pain, back pain, body aches and joint pains now and then. In between taking care of our skin and hair we neglect our load bearing joints. Our joints deserve as much attention and care as any other part of our body. It is important to pamper our bones and joints before we start experiencing body aches, joint pains, postural problems and difficulty in walking. So, let us discuss in detail how to keep our joints healthy, strong and happy.

1. Start exercising:

Exercise for healthy joints

For healthy joints, start exercising. Exercising regularly helps in improving bone density and building muscles that provides support, stability and strength to our joints. If you are not able to exercise for long durations initially, start with 15 minutes of exercises everyday and then gradually increase it to 30 minutes. Because consistency is the key to success.

2. Shed extra kilos:

Healthy diet and regular exercise for weight loss

Yes, you heard it right! Shedding those extra kilos will reduce the strain on hips, knees, and back which in turn will help you to strengthen these joints. So, lose that extra weight with healthy eating and regular exercise in stress free environment.

3. Warm-up and cool-down:

Stretching before workout

Warm up and cool down is as important as your main workout. Warm and cool your muscles, tendons, ligaments to reduce any chances of injury by performing just 5 minutes of stretching before and after your main workout.

Try dynamic stretching like high knees, jumping jacks, lunges, etc. when warming up. They increase blood flow to the muscles that results in reduced resistance and increased flexibility.

4.Strengthen your core:

Core strengthening exercises

Strong core is a sign of stability, strength and balance. Core exercises ensures we do not fall off or get injured as they improve coordination, strengthens hip, back and pelvic muscles, increases flexibility, enhances movements and cures joint pains if any. So, what are we waiting for. Let us add some leg raises, planks, glute bridges, etc to our daily workout and slowly increase the repetitions for healthy joints.

5. Take sunshine vitamin:

Vitamin D: The sunshine vitamin

We all know, calcium makes our bones strong, but did we know our body needs enough vitamin D to absorb calcium. Yes, we need both of them in enough amounts to make our bones strong and healthy. Sunlight is the major source of vitamin D, so spend 10-15 minutes in early morning sunlight to make your bones strong like rock.

6. Eat healthy food:

Anti-inflammatory foods

Health requires healthy food and so does our joints. A diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, omega 3 and antioxidants reduces inflammation, improves bone density, strengthens connective tissues, relieves pains and makes our joints healthy and happy. Make dairy products, green leafy vegetables, fruits, garlic, ginger, turmeric, fish, nuts, seeds and ghee a part of your daily diet to boost joint health.

Take care of your joints and age gracefully by adopting an active lifestyle, maintaining ideal body weight and correct supplementation. Do try these tips and inculcate them in your daily routine to get the best out of it.