Active Living

Exercise

Controlled movement exercises can help you to maintain suppleness in joints, while strengthening exercises can help your muscles take the pressure off your joints. For example, swimming is a great aerobic exercise to help improve overall fitness and control weight.

You should talk to your doctor before exercising, as he or she may be able to give advice on the best exercises for you.

Diet

Any excess weight you can shed will help to relieve strain on delicate joints. And of course, losing weight may encourage you to be more active too.

A healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg is to be recommended. More specifically, oily fish like sardines, kippers, mackerel and fresh tuna contain omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Caring for your joints:

Eating healthily, following a sensible exercise regime and protecting your joints will help you stay active for longer.

Check Out GOPO^®’s Top 10 Healthy Joints Tips

A simple check list for healthy joints would include the following:

1. Maintain a healthy body weight to reduce the straight on your joints.
2. Improve your posture...
3. Avoid sugary foods which can trigger inflammation and may lead to painful joints (source - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16904534/).
4. Eat a balanced diet filled with plenty of colourful vegetables, fruit, nuts and whole grains to keep inflammation at bay (same reference as above).
5. Increase foods rich in vitamin C such as peppers, broccoli, tomatoes and oranges to support the formation of collagen which can help to protect joint cartilage.
6. Regular exercise and physical activity helps to strengthen muscles and relieves pressure on joints.
7. Listen to your body and don’t overdo it.
8. Give your body time to recover after any sort of injury and listen to professional rehabilitation advice.
9. Sleep allows your body to recharge and heal itself so aim to achieve 7 to 9 hours each night.
10. Stretch regularly to improve your flexibility and prepare the body ahead of physical exercise.