Slideshow Pictures: Osteoarthritis -- Tips to Keep Your Joints Healthy

Move to Help Prevent Joint Pain

Keep joints healthy by keeping them moving. The more you move, the less stiffness you'll have. Whether you're reading, working, or watching TV, change positions often. Take breaks from your desk or your chair and move around.

Joint Pain and Arthritis

With overuse or injury, cartilage on the end of the joints can break down, causing a narrowing of the joint space and the bones to rub together. Painful bony growths, or spurs, may form. This can lead to swelling, stiffness, and possibly osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis. Another type of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease characterized by extreme inflammation.

Protect Your Body and Your Joints

Injury can damage joints. So protecting your joints your whole life is important. Wear protective gear like elbow and knee pads when taking part in high-risk activities like skating. If your joints are already aching, consider wearing braces when playing tennis or golf.

Healthy Weight for Healthy Joints

Joints hurting? Lose just a few pounds and you'll take some strain off your hips, knees, and back. Extra pounds add to the load placed on these joints, increasing the risk of cartilage breakdown. Even a little weight loss can help. Every pound you lose takes four pounds of pressure off your knees.

Don't Stretch Before Exercise

Many arthritis experts believe that stretching is the most important type of exercise. Try to stretch daily but at least three times a week. However, it's important that you don't stretch cold muscles. Do a light warm up before stretching to loosen up the joints and the ligaments, and tendons around them.

Low-Impact Exercise for Joints

What exercise is good? To protect your joints, your best choices are low-impact options like walking, bicycling and swimming. That's because high-impact, pounding, and jarring exercise can increase your risk of joint injuries and may slowly cause cartilage damage. Light weight-lifting exercises should also be included. But if you already have arthritis, first speak with your doctor.

Strengthen Muscles Around Joints

Stronger muscles around joints mean less stress on those joints. Research shows that having weak thigh muscles increases your risk of knee osteoarthritis, for example. Even small increases in muscle strength can reduce that risk. Avoid rapid and repetitive motions of affected joints.

Full Range of Motion is Key

Move joints through their full range of motion to reduce stiffness and keep them flexible. Range of motion refers to the normal extent joints can be moved in certain directions. If you have arthritis, your doctor or physical therapist can recommend daily range-of-motion exercises.

Strengthen Your Core

How can strong abs help protect joints? Stronger abs and back muscles help with balance. The more balanced you are, the less likely you are to damage your joints with falls or other injuries. So include core (abdominal, back, and hips) strengthening exercises in your routine.

Know Your Joints' Limits

It's normal to have some aching muscles after exercising. But if your pain lasts longer than 48 hours, you may have overstressed your joints. Don't exercise so hard next time. Working through the pain may lead to injury or damage.

Eat Fish to Reduce Inflammation

If you have joint pain from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), eat more fish. Fatty coldwater fish like salmon and mackerel are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s may help keep your joints healthy, as well as reduce inflammation, a cause of joint pain and tenderness in people with RA. Don't like fish? Try fish oil capsules instead.

Drink Milk to Keep Bones Strong

Calcium and vitamin D help keep bones strong. Strong bones can keep you on your feet, and prevent falls that can damage joints. Dairy products are the best sources of calcium, but other options are green, leafy vegetables like broccoli and kale. If you don't get enough calcium in your diet, ask your doctor about supplements.

Protect Joints With Good Posture

Stand and sit up straight. Good posture protects your joints all the way from your neck down to your knees. One easy way to improve posture is by walking. The faster you walk, the harder your muscles work to keep you upright. Swimming can also improve posture.

Be Careful Lifting and Carrying

Consider your joints when lifting and carrying. Carry bags on your arms instead of with your hands to let your bigger muscles and joints support the weight.

Use Ice for Joint Pain

Ice is a natural -- and free -- pain reliever. It numbs pain and helps relieve swelling. If you have a sore joint, apply a cold pack or ice wrapped in a towel. Leave it on for up to 20 minutes at a time. Don't have ice or a cold pack? Try a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel. Never apply ice directly to the skin.

Glucosamine for Knee OA

Glucosamine is a natural chemical compound found in healthy joint cartilage. Some studies have shown glucosamine -- combined with chondroitin -- may provide some relief for moderate to severe pain caused by knee OA. Yet the results of other studies have been mixed.

Other Supplements for Joint Pain?

Health food stores are filled with supplements promising to relieve joint pain. In addition to glucosamine, the best scientific evidence is for SAMe. Some studies have even shown it to work better than anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen) for osteoarthritis pain. Acupuncture is another complementary therapy that may also help. Talk to your doctor if you want to give supplements a try as they may interact with other medicines.

Treat Joint Injuries

Physical trauma can contribute to cartilage breakdown and OA. If you injure a joint, see your doctor right away for treatment. Then take steps to avoid more damage. You may need to avoid activities that overstress the joint or use a brace to stabilize it.

More Reading on Osteoarthritis

• Osteoarthritis
• Arthritis

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