Exercise can prevent many age-related changes to muscles, bones and joints – and reverse these changes as well. It's never too late to start living an active lifestyle and enjoying the benefits.
Stretching and exercises like yoga and Pilates can help keep your muscles long and limber, and can help when you're feeling sore, too. If your muscles are hurting, try RICE therapy and over-the-counter pain medicine. See your doctor if you're in a lot of pain.
Despite a widespread belief that little can be done about stiffness other than surgery, appropriate physical therapy can relieve and even reverse stiffness.
Examples of aerobic exercises that are easy on joints include walking, bicycling, swimming and water aerobics. Try to work up to 150 minutes of somewhat hard aerobic exercise every week. You can exercise 10 minutes at a time if that's easier on your joints.
Most commonly, muscle stiffness can be treated at home by resting the stiff muscle, applying heat and cold, stretching, and massaging the muscle. More extensive treatments may include physical therapy and medications, depending upon the underlying condition.
Consuming healthy fats can increase joint health and lubrication. Foods high in healthy fats include salmon, trout, mackerel, avocados, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, and chia seeds. The omega-3 fatty acids in these foods will assist in joint lubrication.
Bananas and Plantains are high in magnesium and potassium that can increase bone density. Magnesium may also alleviate arthritis symptoms.
Making movement part of your everyday, especially if you are working at home, is recommended to help ease stiffness and help posture. It's a free activity which can be done pretty much anywhere. Whether that's around the house, in your garden, a stroll to the local shops or a lap around the local park.
Morning stiffness is a symptom of several types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis (OA), the common type many people get as they age. It's also a warning sign of inflammatory types of arthritis such as: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)
As you age, the cartilage begins to dry out and stiffen. Each of the joints in the human body contains synovial fluid. This thick fluid lubricates the joint and decreases friction around the cartilage. As you age, your body makes less synovial fluid.
Vitamin D
Studies have shown that people with low levels of vitamin D tend to suffer from joint pain more frequently. Vitamin D also assists in the body's absorption of calcium.
Taking magnesium can help to reduce arthritic pain and inflammation. It may be beneficial to take magnesium supplements or eat foods rich in magnesium if you are experiencing arthritic pain. Magnesium has not been shown to reverse arthritis.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. OTC doses of these drugs, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) and naproxen sodium (Aleve), may be useful for relieving pain. At higher prescription doses they may also relieve inflammation.
Additionally, the polyphenol extract found in extra virgin olive oil can decrease joint edema, cell migration, cartilage degradation, and bone erosion. Introducing olive oil into your meal plans could significantly decrease arthritis pain and inflammation symptoms.
The natural lubricant of the joints is called hyaluronic acid (HA). This lubricant in concentrated form can be injected into a joint to increase lubrication.
You need to increase your overall water intake each day to give yourself the benefits of hydration over time. While hydration won't cure your joint pain, it can be beneficial for easing your symptoms. Not only does this natural remedy help your joints, but your overall health will benefit as well.
Many people will experience joint stiffness as they age. Most often this stiffness will wear off after a person gets up and moves around. Other people, however, may experience joint stiffness as a result of an underlying condition.
Vitamin D may be protective for muscle loss; a more alkalinogenic diet and diets higher in the anti-oxidant nutrients vitamin C and vitamin E may also prevent muscle loss.
With age, these discs harden and lose flexibility with the inevitable result of compressed total length of the spine and a forward tilt called kyphosis. These aging changes together are called senile kyphosis and are considered a normal part of aging. Muscle mass also changes with age with a process called sarcopenia.
This is called extrinsic aging. As a result, premature aging can set in long before it was expected. In other words, your biological clock is more advanced than your chronological clock. Controllable factors such as stress, smoking and sun exposure can all play a role in expediting extrinsic aging.