10. Your posture is ruining your joints! That’s right, the way you sit and stand throughout the day most likely impact the way your knees and feet hurt. If your posture is awful you will place additional pressure on your back and lower extremities because your spine is not in proper alignment.

9. You may have arthritis and not know it. Several suffer from joint pain all over their body because of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. According to the CDC, 46 million Americans suffer from arthritis. Also, one in 250 children are born with some form of arthritis. See a doctor if you think you could have arthritis.

8. There are natural substances that can assist you. Omega-3’s, glucosamine, MSM and Hyaluronic Acid have been scientifically confirmed to help restore joints and reduce pain.

7. Your lifting could be killing your joints. Heavy lifting and bad form in and out of the gym has led to a severe increase in joint-related pain and consequently, a rise in the purchase of joint relief formulas.

Be careful when performing lifts. Do not place extra pressure on elbows, knees and the back when weight training.

6. Stretch AFTER your workouts! It’s okay to warm up on Cardio and do a quick stretch before an exercise, but stretching a cold muscle will decrease force production and could cause an injury to joint connective tissue. Stretching has been a source of confusion for years. But research shows static stretching is best done after a workout, when the muscles and joints are warm and primed.

Your shoes are most likely lacking in arch support and cushion, which could be causing strain on your knees, hips and back.

5. Allergic to shellfish? Don’t take glucosamine. Joint formulas that include glucosomine and krill oil may be useful for alleviating joint pain, but you should stay away from these compounds if you have a shellfish allergy. Most supplement manufacturers derive these formulas from crustaceans. What should you do? Opt for Omega-3’s to lubricate those tender joints.

4. Your shoes are killing you! That’s right, your shoes are most likely lacking in arch support and cushion, which could be causing strain on your knees, hips and back. Look into a health shoe store for a shoe specifically designed for your needs. Or, if you hate lame-looking shoes, get an insole, which can help support those aching feet and give your body assistance.

3. Were you told you have fibromayalgia? Do you have joint pain? This author was told he had fibromayalgia for three years until he was correctly diagnosed with arthritis. Fibromayalgia is often diagnosed when the pain cannot be attributed to anything specific.

2. Move away from the painkillers. Doctors prescribe Prednisone and NSAIDS (non steroidal anti-inflammatories) often without regard for the long term side effects. Ibuprofen and Aleve can lead to stomach bleeding and exacerbate joint pain because of their contribution to leaky gut. This is a condition where bacteria in the digestive tract leaks into the blood steam and can deposit in joint tissue, increasing inflammation. Try natural anti-inflammatories like Omega-3’s and circumin, rather than relying on painkillers and steroids.

1. Change your diet. The foods you are eating could be causing you joint pain. Certain foods such as gluten, saturated fats, and animal protein can cause inflammation and make joint pain intolerable. Try to eliminate foods that are known to be pro-inflammatories.

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Joint mobility training involves actively moving your joints with the goal of maintaining or restoring your mobility. This therefore improves joint flexibility by reducing the excess tension surrounding the joints and by recovering the coordination of more efficient movement.

Usually people only move to a point where it is pain-free, not pushing through areas of tension. By working within these guidelines, you can reduce tension in the muscles surrounding the joints, speed recovery from exercise, and restore lost motion from past injuries.

This works through increased control over your movements you can restore proper posture and increase your movement efficiency. Emphasis placed on posture and controlled movement will help to re-educate the nervous system.

Moreover this can also help you deal with previous low back pain and avoid it from reoccurring. Also if you have had neck or shoulder injuries and problems in the past, this can reduce pain and release tension.

By moving every joint or groups of joints in an isolated way this will help restore or maintain mobility. This can be performed in a standing position to enhance posture. Simple rotations to start and then progressively more complex patterns involving multiple joints.

Additional moves such as Tai Chi, yoga, dance and the martial arts will further help the joint or group of joints, and then for movements that involve multiple joints.

By means of progressing from basic rotations to more difficult figure 8 patterns, your nervous system is provided with greater stimulus, which as a result adapts to this stress in a positive way.

Additional moves such as Tai Chi, yoga, dance and the martial arts will further help the joint or group of joints, and then for movements that involve multiple joints.

The foundation for joint mobility training lies in two areas. One, it works with your body’s reflexes to repair lost motion due to stress, poor posture, injury, and lack of movement. It seems that reflexes can impair joint function long after the threat of harm is gone.

Reflexes that were meant to protect the body, but are still active at a later time. The muscles adjoining a joint will tighten or reflexively spasm to protect a joint from anymore injury.

Meaning, movement has to be retrained following injury to restore proper function. Proprioception, which is the body’s ability to sense and feel where it is in relative to movement, is often impaired after injury. It needs to be re-educated in order to work correctly.

Therefore Joint mobility work does an outstanding job of retraining proprioception (re-educates the nervous system). By moving at a speed it can manage, in a range of motion that is pain-free, avoiding unnecessary tension, movement is progressively restored. Your movements become more capable, because you have greater control over them.

In summary according to Dr. Eric Cobb, you need to balance tension and relaxation in the muscles for optimal performance. While that may seem rather obvious, it’s a perfect example of how our multifaceted bodies often function in a straightforward manner.

Brian Morgan has been a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) since 1993. He is also a massage therapist, with 5 years experience working in rehab settings with people of all ages. For more information, go to http://www.brianmorganfitness.com

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