Flexibility and joint pain can become issues at any age without regard to your general level of health or fitness. Injuries and other illnesses can contribute to the loss of flexibility and the addition of joint pain, as well. When these afflictions happen, it may seem like there is nothing you can do to help alleviate the issue except pills from the doctor. However, this isn’t at all the case. There are quite a few things that you can employ to help with flexibility and joint pain, no matter your age.
Exercises in General are a Boon
Before getting to specifics, it should be made clear that most exercises can help maintain a healthy weight. Regular movement in the body can benefit its flexibility and help aid in the reduction of joint pain. Moving the body for a recommended amount on a daily basis can help immensely with both issues. Even doing simple everyday things — such as yardwork, housework, or walking the dog — can help keep the body moving enough to alleviate some symptoms.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is hugely beneficial for the body in general, not just for joint stiffness and flexibility. This type of exercise can improve endurance and stamina while boosting cardiovascular health and controlling weight. Aerobic exercise doesn’t have to be heart pounding, either. Even enough low-intensity aerobic exercise every week may be enough to prevent many health issues and provide lots of benefit for relieving joint pain and stiffness.
Range of Motion Exercises
Range of motion exercises are those that move the joints throughout their whole range. When done repeatedly and with proper form, these types of exercises can greatly reduce stiffness and increase flexibility in joints.
Range of motion exercises exist for every area that arthritis may affect. This includes the hands, feet, wrists, ankles, elbows, shoulders, and wrists. Range of motion exercises may include stretches and simple movements that can take the joints throughout their whole ability. They can help stretch muscles and tendons as you perform the exercise.
Examples of range of motion exercises may include bending and holding the wrist in each direction, stretching the tendons and ligaments involved. You may also perform the same exercises with the ankles. Simply bend and hold the ankle in each direction until resistance is felt without pain being involved.
Bending and straightening the arms at the elbows is also a range of motion exercise that can help with flexibility and joint stiffness. Though they may seem too simple to help, range of motion exercises can have hidden benefits that you may easily start to notice when these exercises are repeated often and thoroughly.
Strength Training or Other Strengthening Exercises
Building muscle around the bones and joints can help immensely with flexibility and reducing joint pain. Strength training exercises of all sorts are not difficult. They do not have to require lifting heavy weights, either, and can aid in building muscles. Easy and simple exercise plans exist for those who are new to strength training and don’t know where to begin.
In many programs, weights aren’t even necessary. The body’s own weight can be used to build muscle and grow strength. When doing a strength training routine, you should pay attention to how often you are doing them and which muscle groups you are exercising. Rest days are important, you should not exercise muscle groups on back-to-back days.
Common strength training exercises for flexibility and joint pain fall into two categories: isotonic and isometric. Isotonic exercises increase muscles by moving the joints and causing resistance. Isometric exercises are muscle contractions achieved without moving the joints. This may be easier on those who have painful joints to start with.
There are specific exercises that you can to help target specific joints or areas of the body, but you should do them under a doctor’s supervision. This is especially true if you are new to a strength training routine or strength training in general. Furthermore, you do not need any special tools or equipment for many strength training exercises. A full complete workout can be done easily with only the body’s weight and items already around the house.
Other Ways to Improve Flexibility and Reduce Joint Pain
Other options are also available that can help the body with flexibility and joint pain. Some studies suggest that a higher fiber intake can help with certain types of joint pain by reducing the inflammation in the body.
Directed Heat
Heat is good for joints, as well. Applying heat in the form of compresses, heating pads, a hot bath, or even a hot tub can improve circulation in the joints and allow for better flexibility while reducing inflammation.
PEMF Therapy
PEMF therapy, or pulse electro-magnetic therapy, can help improve inflammation in joints. By improving circulation and reducing inflammation, this type of therapy may provide relief from arthritis. It can also lend benefits in many other areas of wellbeing, including sleep.
Turmeric Supplementation
Turmeric, a common spice and supplement, may be good for inflammation. This supplement improves circulation in most people, therefore reducing joint pain. You should discuss any type of supplement with a doctor before adding it into your daily routine.
Focus on Sleep
Good sleep habits may help with general inflammation in the body, as well. As mentioned above, PEMF therapy may also be helpful with achieving better sleep and whole-body wellness. Combined with a regular schedule that focuses on natural circadian rhythms and deep, restful sleep, all of these may help the body soothe inflammation that causes stiffness and pain.
A Hands-On Approach
Therapeutic massage has the potential to improve circulation temporarily in certain areas, bringing the opportunity to relieve aching and pain. Massage may also help. By taking the focus off of painful areas, it allows endorphins from a positive activity to flow through the body.
No matter the type or level of stiffness and pain that you may be feeling, there is a myriad of opportunities out there to provide relief without medication or doctor’s visits. With focus and consistency, making joint stiffness and pain a thing of the past is highly achievable.
