Staying healthy in general also means looking after your joints
Why is important to look after our joints?
Joints are the axis about which most of our natural movement occurs. If a joint become stiff, swollen or loses mobility it has a catastrophic effect on our ability to perform even some of the most basic of tasks.
Joint health will continue to grow as a problem as modern medicine increases life expectancy but what of the life expectancy of our skeleton... As medicine improves, we need comparable products for joint health care otherwise we just end up with lots of alive but immobile people.
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What types of foods should we be eating to look after our joints?
Paul shares his expert advice
Women need to think twice about diets that cut out dairy without thought for the calcium intake. Osteoporosis is a huge issue and is much more prevalent in women - there is good solid evidence that having a diet rich in calcium as well as vitamin D can help alongside weight bearing exercises. Fad diets can be a huge problem in restricting women from getting the nutrients they need for a healthy skeleton. Rather than diets, we need to think about good old healthy eating, portion size control and everything in moderation.
- Are there any particular exercises that can help improve joint health?
- Yes, we have developed a set of jointcare exercises by Regenovex for this. Please see attached document. Key exercises include:
Abduction- finger walking against wall
Sets: 2 Repetitions: 10
Stand sideways to a wall with your right shoulder nearest to it, about half an arm’s length away. Place the fingertips of your right hand on the wall and then gradually 'walk' the fingers as far up the wall as you are able. As you reach higher up the wall you may need to step slightly closer to the wall. Hold the right arm in its highest position for 5 seconds then gently lower. Repeat as instructed by your clinician. You can then perform this same exercise but this time stand facing the wall (about half an arm’s length away) so your arm moves upwards in from of you. This works the elbow if you start from a bent elbow position as well as the shoulder and fingers.
Flexion- supported squats
Sets: 2 Repetitions: 10 Hold time (sec): 2
Stand with a table in front of you to support you. Slowly squat down as far as you are able. Hold for 2 seconds, and then return back up to the starting position. Repeat as instructed by your clinician. This works hips, knees and ankles.
Assisted dorsiflexion mobility using towel
Sets: 2 Repetitions: 10
Sit on the floor with the left leg straight out in front of you and the right knee bent to about 45 degrees. Loop a towel under the ball of the right foot with the toes pointing towards the ceiling. Keep your right knee bent and gently pull the towel towards you bringing the foot towards you.... then point the toes away from you. Once completed, do the same exercise on the other side. Repeat as instructed by your clinician. This is specific to ankle but keep the knee bent in.
Flexion- centrally and to the side, sitting
Sets: 2 Repetitions: 10
Sit on a chair and lean forwards running both hands down the front of your right leg as far as you are able. Then 'walk' the hands back up to the starting position. Place your hands in your lower back, fingertips pointing towards your tailbone and extend your head and body backwards. This time repeat the movement down the left leg and then 'walk' the hands back up to the starting position. Extend backwards again and then lean centrally forwards and then return back to the starting position. Always finish with extending your head and body backwards. Repeat as instructed by your clinician. This works the lower back both flexors, extensions and side flexors. It is comprehensive for the joints in the lumbar spine as long as the curves are in the spine both ways (arch one way then the next).
- If you could suggest two things that we change to help improve joint health, what would it be?
Consider good supplementation for your joints. What I mean by this is to look for an excellent, researched product such as Regenovex which is proven to be better than ibuprofen in terms of anti inflammatory properties. Regenovex is a new generation of joint care preparation, with a unique formulation that helps to support joint health. The key ingredients are Bionovex Oil, a marine oil derived from New Zealand green lipped mussels and hyaluronic acid. The Bionovex Oil has a proven anti-inflammatory effect which could relieve the pressure build up in the joint, while hyaluronic acid acts to lubricate and cushion your joints. Regenovex could be a major help in treating joint health problems. It not only helps tackle inflammation along a range of pathways, but it may also improve and maintain the synovial fluid in joints. No other product works this way. It is available in Boots nationwide.
I would also like to educate modern society that fad diets are not a good life plan for good healthy joints later in life. It is important to have healthy living but they need to be health balanced diets that provide a good nutritional balance, such as getting a nice proportion between fruit and veg every day. Portion control is also important as being overweight is one of the biggest indicators of joint deterioration and yet is more avoidable than an acute injury from a slip or jarring accident.
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