3 Tips For Healthier Joints
A healthy joint can...
withstand the demands of life (and them some) without onset of significant pain or dysfunction.
recover quickly (with minimal effort/attention) after life has challenged the joint beyond its current capacity.
Most of us can pick at least one joint or body region that "fails" one of the above bullet points. Typically, its one of the big four: knee, hip, low back, shoulders. Somehow, someway, we lost the adequate strength, stability, flexibility or tissue integrity - and as a result, that joint(s) is unable to handle the challenges of life.... end result = pain, weakness, stiffness, etc.
Regardless of where your issue/limitation or why it happened, you can address those limitations by focusing on a few specific things.
Tip #1: Use and challenge range of motion.
Use ALL the available, pain-free range of motion. Multiple times a week, you should work that joint to it's limits - using whatever position or pattern that allows you to move with minimal to no pain.
Tip #2: Stabilize near by regions.
We can experience stiffness, spasms or discomfort in an area because out nervous system is trying to protect us. The brain creates that stiffness to prevent us from using that region OR to create stability that we're not getting elsewhere. If you have a constantly "tight" feeling joint, trying working on stability at the joints/regions close by.
For example: Stiff or "pinchy" hips during a squat may be occurring because we lack adequate stability at the midsection/spine... Thus our body is attempting to restrict our hips, as to prevent us from squatting too deep or too heavy.
Tip #3: Maintain a strength balance.
Every major joint is at least two directions of movement. Some have more, some are very limited - but all are surrounded by muscles and tendons which create a level of "active" stability at the joint. When one "side" or direction of movement is stronger or better controlled than the other, we can experience pain or feelings of instability. To prevent this, you want to make sure you are not under- or over-addressing one side/direction.
For example: Too much focus on squats, lunges quads OR too little attention for the hamstrings, calves and hinging may create a strength imbalance at the knees/lower legs that results in pain, or sometimes a plateau in progress.
There you have it. If you want to maintain or re-gain healthier joints, this is the way. Of course, this involves weeks of consistency and mindful progressions/regressions, but you've got the cliff notes version.
If you need more guidance or want a deeper understand, send me an email at hello@tylerkallasy.com and we'll chat OR schedule a free discovery call HERE.
