Joint protection starts with your posture.
| Health tips: Protecting your joints | | | Dear Reader,
You wouldn’t intentionally overload one of your joints — particularly if you have arthritis. The joint may already be stiff and painful, and injury would limit it even more. But it’s easy to overload or injure your joints through daily movements. The good news is that you can learn ways to protect your joints throughout your day.
Be kind to your joints
An important rule of joint protection is simply avoiding situations that aggravate your condition — increasing inflammation and wear on your joints. But how do you put that advice into practice? Try these tips: When writing, use good posture and lighting. Relax your hand often and stretch your neck often. Use a pen with a wider barrel or special grip. Nylon-tip or rolling-ball pens require less pressure than pencils and ballpoint pens. Install lever-type handles instead of knobs on the doors in your home. When you’re moving lawn supplies or groceries and doing other household tasks, use a utility cart to transport heavy items and to avoid extra trips. When traveling, use luggage with built-in wheels. During an activity, sit (with good posture) instead of standing when possible. Joint protection starts with your posture — the positions that you hold your body in when you’re standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture means that whether you’re stationary or in motion, you’re putting the least amount of strain on your bones and supporting muscles, tendons and ligaments. It means there’s less wear on your joint surfaces.
If you have poor posture, that means your joints are not ideally aligned. For example, when you sit with your shoulders rolled into a slouch, your head, neck and back may be curved forward. The supporting muscles and ligaments need to work harder at keeping you upright and balanced. This effort causes extra wear on your joints, which may lead to arthritis and associated symptoms such as fatigue.
Good posture evenly distributes the weight of your body and maintains the natural curvature of your spine. Staying in one position for a while should feel almost effortless. If you’re trying to improve your posture, it may feel a little stiff at the beginning. Don’t worry! Keep practicing good posture, and it will soon start feeling natural. |
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