Systematic exercise is important at any age. It gives considerable benefits to the whole body: strengthens muscles and joints, preserves and even increases bone strength, improves posture, ligament elasticity and balance, increases endurance and resistance to stress. To maintain the tone of the musculoskeletal system, it is necessary to give it a certain load every day.
Joints and their role in the human skeleton
Joints are the most common compounds in the human skeleton. They provide free movement, but within the limits determined by their shape. The mobility of the connection reduces its strength, so they are additionally strengthened by fibrous ligaments. There are hundreds of joints in the human body. Some of them are small and inconspicuous, for example, in the wrists. And others are large and noticeable, for example, in the shoulders, knees and elbows. The mobility of these compounds in the body is very different. For example, the spherical shoulder joint allows you to move your hand in any direction, and flat intercarpal joints provide only minimal glide of the bones relative to each other. The question of how to strengthen joints is relevant today as never before.
Activities that are most useful for strengthening joints
Many are interested in how to strengthen joints. It is necessary to ensure minimal shock loads, such as walking, swimming, exercise on a stationary bike. Stretching exercises, including yoga and Pilates, help strengthen joints by reducing the risk of injuries. These are the best joint strengthening remedies.
To protect them from problems, it is necessary to adhere to some rules:
- Go to the orthopedist. A qualified specialist should assess the condition of the ankle, knee and hip joints.
- Control your weight. Excess weight is an extra load on all joints of the body, especially on the knee and hip. An increase of only 1 kg in weight increases the risk of arthrosis by 10-15%.
- Choose the right shoes. Inconvenient shoes, especially with high heels, can ruin your posture, gait and lead to leg diseases. The best shoes are sneakers with an arch support and soft soles that fit the foot, such shoes are the best prevention of injuries to the ankle, hip and knee joints.
- Equip a workplace. An improperly installed computer or an uncomfortable posture at the desktop creates problems for the spine, which, in turn, lead to pain in the back and neck.
- Use more fish in your diet. Fish is rich in fatty unsaturated acids needed for joints.
- Do appropriate gymnastics that improves flexibility, posture, balance and coordination.
What exercise is good for joints and ligaments?
Different physical activity brings undoubted benefits to the whole body. How to strengthen joints, muscles and ligaments, will show the effect on them of each individual type of physical activity:
- Aerobics improves blood circulation to joints, strengthens ligaments.
- Stretching increases the range of motion, reduces stiffness, and relieves pain.
- Strength training strengthens ligaments and tendons.
- Jogging strengthens the ligaments and tendons of the lower body.
- Swimming improves joint mobility and blood circulation.
- Dancing improves blood circulation, coordination.
- Walking increases mobility.
- Jumping strengthens the ligaments and tendons of the lower body.
- Yoga increases the range of motion, reduces stiffness, and relieves pain.
- Pilates has the same effect as yoga.
Muscle exercises for shoulders and ligaments
Overstrain of the muscles of the shoulders and upper back is fraught with a very painful condition. Stooping at the desk and a hunched posture often lead to stiffness in the muscles of the chest and stretching the muscles of the shoulders and back, and this, in turn, leads to headaches and muscle pain in this area.
How to strengthen the shoulder joint, the following exercises will show:
- Shrug. In the standing position, raise the shoulders to the ears, connecting the shoulder blades, then take them away and lower them.
- Mixing and breeding shoulders. Pull the shoulders forward as much as possible, then take them back farther, connecting the shoulder blades.
- Stretching the back. Sit on a chair with your feet on the floor. Lean forward slowly. Stretching your arms between your legs, reach for the legs of the chair until you feel a strong tension in the upper back. Slowly take the initial position.
Proper nutrition
Healthy nutrition is important at any age: in childhood, when bones and muscles grow actively, and in old age, when tissues weaken. Healthy bone tissue always needs a certain minimum of vitamins and minerals coming from food, primarily calcium.
How to strengthen joints and ligaments with nutrition? Food provides the body with energy, which is necessary for the whole body, like fuel for a car. Protein in food is used by the body as a building material. Interestingly, the human bone tissue is constantly being destroyed and growing. For 7-10 years, the mineral substance of the skeleton of an adult is completely updated. And in childhood, when a child grows rapidly, his skeleton is completely renewed in 2 years. Some trace elements and vitamins are especially beneficial for bones, joints, and muscles. Before you strengthen the joints with exercise, you must provide the body with proper nutrition.
Products for healthy muscles, bones and joints
The required number of them can easily be obtained from a balanced diverse diet, including the following groups of products:
- Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream).
- Fats and carbohydrates (vegetable oil, nuts, fish).
- Fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, dried, canned).
- Proteins (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds).
If the daily menu does not correspond to good nutrition, it is advisable to take supplements for the musculoskeletal system:
- calcium;
- vitamin D;
- magnesium;
- omega-3 fatty acids.
The largest dose of calcium a person should receive in the first 20 years of life, when the strength of bones is laid during the period of active growth. In addition, high doses of calcium are necessary and closer to old age, when bone mineral density for natural reasons decreases and the risk of fractures increases.
Knee joint health
Throughout life, knees are subjected to tremendous stress. Their joints constantly support body weight, and also suffer from domestic and sports injuries. The knee is the largest and most complex joint in the human body, a lot of muscles, ligaments and tendons participate in its work, the coherence of which ensures the stability of the knee and the work of the leg.
Gravity strongly affects the bones of the lower part of the body, and with simple walking, a force exerts pressure on a person’s knees, which is 4-5 times its weight. And during sports, when the legs hit the ground, this force can exceed the body weight by more than 12 times. Therefore, overweight dramatically increases the risk of knee injuries and is the root cause of half of all operations to restore articular knee cartilage.
Ligament role
The knee joint has cruciate and collateral ligaments. These are ligaments that strengthen the joint. Fibrous interosseous ligaments that strengthen the knee joint also control movements in it. They can pass inside its cavity, in the walls of the joint capsule and outside it. These strong strands of connective tissue connect the articulated bones and play a significant role in their strength, because a healthy ligament can stretch to 5% of the original length.
Further stretching threatens injury, sprain. This is the appearance of micro-fractures inside the tissue leading to pain and swelling of the joint, as well as a decrease in its maneuverability. With increased loads, especially in sports, ligaments can break, such an injury is possible even with a fall. In this case, pain occurs and edema develops, knee stability decreases.
How to strengthen the knee joint?
Of course, prevention is better than cure. Few people think about the work of the knees until problems with them appear. Therefore, it is much easier to prevent knee problems and strengthen the muscles that protect the knee ligaments and menisci from overload and help to avoid most injuries. Weak muscles are the main cause of knee problems, so it’s important to pump them up regularly. For this, strengthening exercises are suitable - the knee joint muscles will receive the necessary load, which will reduce the risk of knee injury.
- Bending the knees. Lying on your stomach, straighten your legs. On inspiration, slowly bend one leg at the knee, lifting the lower leg until it is perpendicular to the thigh. Wait in this position for 2-3 seconds, then, slowly, return to its original position. Do the same with the other foot. Do 3 series of 10 such exercises.
- Raise a straight leg. Lying on your back, bend one leg and press your foot to the floor to fix the pelvis. Straighten the second leg. On inspiration, slowly raise your foot about 25 cm from the floor. Hold for about 3 seconds, slowly take its original position. Do the exercise with the other leg. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
- Straightening the legs at the knee. Sit on a chair with your back pressed to the back of the chair. On inspiration, slowly straighten one leg almost parallel to the floor, but not completely. Hold the foot for a few seconds in this position. Return to the starting position and perform the exercise with the other leg. Do 10 exercises in 3 series.