Best Ways To Avoid Joint Pain And Prevent Joint Injuries
Having joint pain can restrict the mobility and flexibility of the body. Your joints survive a lot of stress of too many things during performing various tasks or working out for that matter. The joints connect your bones, support your weight, and on top of that, they allow smooth mobility. Though they are made to take all the stress you put on them, sometimes, they suffer from wear and tear. As a result, you get joint pain, which can create great discomfort if the pain is too extreme.
There are various causes of having joint pain, which include wounds, trauma, disease, strains & sprains, bursitis, tendonitis, or osteoarthritis. Even arthritis can also cause pain in your joints. Moreover, the pain of joints differs from person to person. It can be mild, medium, or severe, and therefore, it depends on the causes of the same.
Most of us lead a busy lifestyle, and therefore, we overlook a lot of things in our daily life. One of those things we ignore is our pain. Yes, you read that right. You may not be aware of your pain or may believe it to subside within a short period. However, a few aches last long and bother you in every way.
Let us take a look at a few of the important ways you can relieve as well as prevent joint pain.
Cryotherapy
When you get joint pain, you can relieve it with ice therapy. It is because cold temperatures can help reduce blood flow and tissue swelling. If you experience pain in the joints, apply an ice pack on the affected area for 15 minutes, and repeat this for the majority part of the day at intervals of one hour. The next day, you can repeat this therapy, but only for four to five times a day. This process is known as cryotherapy or ice therapy.
Cryotherapy relieves joint pain. It is to be noted that you should never place ice directly on the skin. Rather, wrap it in a towel or a washcloth and place it on the skin to avoid ice burns.
Massage Therapy
You can effectively relieve joint pain with the help of massage therapy. Especially, if you have a pain in the knee or hip joint, massage therapy can be very soothing and it effectively relieves the pain. You can massage the affected part even by yourself or get it done by a professional. If you do it by yourself, massage the affected part of the body with a topical menthol rub to ease the pain.
It is to be noted that when you massage your joint, the direction of your strokes should be toward your heart.
Hydrotherapy
Apart from cold therapy, you can also relieve your joint pain with a warm water bath. Warm water will ease the pressure on the joints and help you relieve the pain effectively. You can immerse the affected area in the water and massage it, which will stimulate the blood flow.
Warm water can even reduce the joints swelling and ease the pain effectively. It is to be noted that you should use only warm water and not hot water, as it can burn the skin.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is an effective way of relieving joints pain. The concerned physical therapist will examine your pain and find its root cause. Thereafter, they will design a treatment plan that consists of various kinds of relevant and effective physical therapy programs & techniques. Physical therapy can effectively help you relieve the pain without getting any negative side effects on the body or health, unlike medicines or drugs.
According to Springfield Physical Therapy, “Physical therapy restores the normal movement, strength, and coordination and can help you quickly relieve pain and get back to normal activities.”
Maintain Your Weight
It is always advisable to maintain an ideal weight and should avoid gaining it. Having overweight can invite a lot of health troubles. Also, when you have a controlled weight, it will put low pressure on your knee joints. Therefore, having a controlled weight can reduce stress on your knees and chances of getting knee injuries.
Moreover, with overweight, you are likely to develop osteoarthritis, which can double the trouble of knee joints.
Avoid Employing Excessive Pressure On Joints
Many times, you may lift heavy objects in an improper manner, which can put more pressure on your joints and you are likely to get injuries or sprains. Therefore, when lifting objects, always use both your hands and bend your knees when you are lifting an object below your waist level. Moreover, it is to be noted that you should keep your back straight even while bending from your knees. It will not only reduce the stress on your knees, but it will also prevent you from getting a back strain.
Never lift heavy objects above your head, and use a stool to reach hard-to-reach places. Also, do not try to pull anything heavy with your fingers, which may give you injuries and sprains.
Avoid Prolonged Static Positions
Never stay in the same posture for a long time. Keeping changing it while sitting, standing, or working. Most of the time, we forget to change our posture, especially, while working, and then we develop pain in our joints. Moreover, it is also important that while doing your workouts, you should perform them under certified supervision to avoid any sort of injuries.
It is always better to be safe than to be sorry. Take the necessary precautions for avoiding excessive pressure on the joints, which will help you avoid the pain and injuries as well.
