Exercise & Joints Health

Giro M

Joints are the connections between bones where they roll, glide, rotate or bend so that you can move flexibly. There are various types of joints. These are ball-and-socket joints such as those found at the hips and shoulders, hinge joints at our knees and elbows, pivot joints in our neck andellipsoidal joints like in the wrists. Cartilage, synovium and synovial fluid cushion the joints. Though joints withstand impact commendably well, they are also susceptible to wear, tear and damage. The medical condition called arthritis causes joints swelling and create immense discomfort and pain. Couch potatoes, computer addicts and those who remain “glued” to their chairs are prime candidates for joint problems. Therefore keeping your joints healthy should be one of your priorities.

Giro R

Harvard Medical School has conducted rigorous studies on exercise in relation to improving joint health; as well as to dispel certain beliefs that exercise accelerates the onset of arthritis. Besides improving joint health, they also concurred that exercise has enormous health benefits towards reducing risks of heart attack and stroke plus accord protection against diabetes, obesity, high-blood pressure, osteoporosis & fractures, depression, insomnia, dementia, colon cancer, breast cancer and possibly prostate cancer.

As early as 1948, a detailed research involving over 5,000 people called “The Knees of Framingham” began to probe on exercise in relation to joint health and arthritis. The study followed through their generations on to 2005.  Results found no link between exercise and arthritis of the knee. Some research even suggests that aerobic exercise activities besides getting your heart rate up can also reduce joint swelling. Exercise can be safe for joints both in older and overweight folks. The Framingham study further found that people who performed the most vigorous weight-bearing exercise had the thickest and healthiest knee cartilage.