Joint Friendly Exercise Tips For The New Year
If you are one of the many who have barked upon a new exercise regime or have set yourself a sporting challenge for this year, please remember to take care of your joints so you can keep up the good work.
Arthritis Research UK has created helpful joint friendly exercise tips as part of their Taking the pain out of sport initiative.
The charity is aiming to find more about the link between sport and exercise related pain and injuries and the onset of osteoarthritis.
Top tips
- Warm Up & Down: Remember to gently warm up before exercising and warm down afterwards.
- Build Up Regime Slowly: Start with gentle exercise to get your body used to the activity and then build up intensity slowly over a couple of weeks.
- Vary Your Surface & Activites: Vary your surfaces (tarmac, grass, treadmill etc) and mix up your activities to prevent overuse injuries.
- Well Fitting Shoes: Consider having your gait analysed at a specialist running shop.
- Watch Out For Fatigue: Most injuries occur when you’re tired so make sure you don’t overdo it.
- Keep Hydrated: Drink plenty of water or sports drinks. Your urine should be pale coloured.
- Check With Your Doctor:Consult your doctor if you are embarking on a new regime and you have any existing medical conditions (such as diabetes or high blood pressure).
- Listen To Your Body: If you are feeling pain or get injured, seek medical attention.
If you have osteoarthritis, but would like to keep active, remember: Movement is good for joints – it’s what they were made to do!
For more information and to help Arthritis Research UK to take the pain out of sport visit www.painoutofsport.org
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