Joints. The area of our bodies we tend to not pay much attention to … until they start causing us discomfort!
One of the reasons we focus so much on mobility and joint health here is because we recognize the fundamental role they play in supporting our entire system and performance. Joints form crucial links between our bones, which supports the entire weight of us … (muscles, organs, liters of blood, tissues, etc …).
Talk about being under pressure!
Because of this, your joint health can easily influence your performance level (especially if you’re an athlete with a rigorous regime) and make every day movements and exercise either comfortable, or painful.
Here we’ll walk you through several tips to keep your joints functioning efficiently, while also helping you to ease stiffness, pain, and even inflammation.
PLUS, we have an exciting new offer we don’t want you to miss below!
Tips to Improve Joint Health
1. Keep Circulation High
While moving around might feel like the last thing you want to be doing when your joints are stiff or in pain, trust us: you will feel better if you are moving more. This is because, like your muscles after sitting all day, your joints will become even more stiff the longer they are motionless, due to lack of lubrication, circulation, and stretching of your ligaments.
Try to get up and stretch every 10 minutes or so if you have a desk job or work sitting down, and be sure to try and get in at least a 15-30 minute walk every day. Ideally, add in some mobility moves several times a week (which we’ll discuss below).
2. Add In Mobility Movements
Having a mobile body is having the ability to rotate your joints through their full range of motion, without pain or struggle. Mobility stretches and exercises help you gently stretch out your muscles and loosen up your joints to make it easier to move through full rotations.
(P.S.: our 14-Day Hip Mobility Challenge focuses exclusively on guided hip mobility movements, if you want to try it out here! Just download the Durable Athlete App for your FREE trial)
Some example mobility moves for various joints can be found in this short video (you can access more via our Instagram):
3. Add In Strength Training
Putting on muscle can take a ton of strain and pressure off your joints, which can lead to less pain and stiffness overall. However, know that we always recommend working with a trainer for this, especially if you’re having serious joint issues!
Various yoga flows and even some pilates work that focuses on strengthening your core are also great to try to start building strength and mobility simultaneously.
4. Focus On Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Typically, joint pain has roots in inflammation, which is why so many people experience relief when they start anti-inflammatory prescriptions. However, before turning to prescriptions, try out several of these natural foods that can offer just as much anti-inflammatory benefits as some medications! These include:
• Turmeric (consume as a tea, in powder form, in Indian curries, or supplement with curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric).
• Ginger tea
• Wild caught, fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel
• Healthy fats like avocados and virgin olive oil
• Plenty of leafy greens like spinach and romaine
Also, try eliminating certain foods that regularly cause inflammation (and have even been linked to arthritis) in many people, such as wheat, corn, soy, non-organic dairy, and fried foods.
and finally …
Try the NEW Ultimate Joint Fixes Program
If you’re looking for a more guided approach to improving your joints, we have amazing news: we just launched our Ultimate Joint Fixes Program!
This program is designed to improve your joint flexibility and mobility, reduce stiffness and pain, and even help improve your performance through intensive mobility work! Watch the breakdown of it here:
In Ultimate Joints Fixes, you’ll:
• Receive instructional videos targeting specific joints, including your spine, wrists, shoulders, neck, lower back, hips, and ankle
• Learn techniques for maintaining optimal joint health
• Move through exercises that help relieve joint stiffness, inflammation, and pain, and that also encourage collagen growth
And P.S.: did we mention Ultimate Joint Fixes is FREE with your FREE TRIAL of the Durable Athlete App?
Oh yeah!
Start your 14-Day FREE Trial to access Ultimate Joint Fixes here.
As we mentioned earlier, your joints are the foundational points of linkage for your skeletal system … and that skeletal system is the foundation of your muscular system. So, if you are having issues at the most foundational point of your system … chances are you’re going to be limited in your progress, even if you’re only experiencing a little bit of tightness!
Ultimate Joint Fixes will help you improve your joints so that they support your entire body most efficiently, so you can make real progress toward your goals, and relieve pain.
