Saturday, March 19, 2011

5 Ways To Prevent Your Joints From Prematurely Wearing Out

By Katherine Crawford


Joint health is probably one of the most neglected aspects of fitness, yet if left unchecked it can become a condition that permanently debilitates you.

After all, once a joint wears out, there is not much you can do to restore it naturally. And keep in mind that artificial joints wear out much faster than natural joints.

Thus, here is a guide to joint health when losing weight:

1. Don't overdo the bench press: Not only can it cause extreme impingement of your rotator cuff, but it can also destroy your ac joint. If you have a slouched posture (like the majority of desk workers), this is even more of an issue. So use the bench press is moderation.

2. Don't neglect muscles in your legs: Having leg muscles that are disproportionately stronger than others will cause your knee cap to not move in a correct path. Over time, this can damage the cartilage in your knee. So make sure you give equal attention to all the muscles in your legs.

3. Pay close attention to complete flexibility: Similar to having disproportionately strong leg muscles, having disproportionately tight leg muscles can also pull your patella out of alignment. So make sure you stretch all the muscles in your legs, not just the hamstrings.

4. Stop if it hurts: Joints are not like muscles, they take much more time to heal because of poor blood supply. So make sure you never work through any joint pain whatsoever. A couple weeks rest can save you a surgery and months of rehab.

5. Never let your back round out: Now when I say never, I mean never. You want to avoid lower back rounding in the gym, in your car, in your daily life, etc. Doing this will keep your back healthy for many years to come. And keep in mind that back pain is one of the top complaints in the western world.

Ignoring the health of your joints will eventually catch up to you. Not only will this become painful, but it will become very costly. So take action on this information sooner rather than later!




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