Prevention of joint diseases

What harms the joints?

Prolonged static loads are the main enemy of the joints. Therefore, it is necessary from time to time to change even a comfortable position to unload the joints. It will ensure normal cartilage nutrition and serve as a good prevention of arthrosis.

For example, if you have a sedentary job or monotonous physical work, take a 5-10 minute break every hour to stretch your joints and muscles.

To prevent joint diseases.

Joint pain is the most common type of chronic pain. Surprisingly, even young people, starting at the age of 18, experience pain in the joints due to problems with the musculoskeletal system. To prevent this, you can independently carry out primary prevention against joint pain as early as possible. But if the doctor has already made a diagnosis, accompanying prevention will be beneficial also. Let's consider this in more detail.

Who is at risk for arthritis and arthrosis?

❏ women over 45 and men over 55,

❏ people with sexual promiscuity (regardless of age),

❏ people prone to joint disease by heredity,

❏ allergies,

❏ people after injuries or operations on the joints,

❏ people with a weight above the established norm,

❏ people who have congenital or acquired abnormalities of the musculoskeletal system (posture disorders, flat feet),

❏ people whose profession involves load on the joints (office worker, loader, dancer, athlete, driver, etc.).

Women suffer from joint diseases almost twice as often as men. Prevention of arthritis and arthrosis of the knee, carpal, and interphalangeal joints is necessary for people at risk.

Some diseases can affect four or more joints at once (polyarthritis and polyarthritis), and people who are most prone to them are:

❏ with severe forms of infection, poisoning, frostbite, burns,

❏ who has an intense allergic reaction or chronic stress,

❏ with diabetes or other endocrine and metabolic diseases,

❏ those who have a genetic predisposition,

❏ with diseases of the cardiovascular or nervous systems and respiratory tract, or with a propensity to develop chronic infectious diseases and kidney diseases.

Prevention of arthritis and arthrosis

If a person does not have any symptoms of joint disease, this does not mean that it will not affect him. But it is not necessary to wait for the appearance of symptoms. Just follow simple rules for prevention:

1. Follow a balanced diet. Balanced means the vitamins and minerals, essential amino acids, and antioxidants are present in the diet. Vegetables and dairy products are beneficial for joints, and it is better to reduce the number of sweet fruits, starch, and semi-finished products in the diet. Interesting fact: the optimal diet can delay the manifestation of symptoms even with a hereditary predisposition.
2. Watch your weight. Did you know that the more a person weighs, the more stress his joints experience? For example, reducing body weight by 1 kilogram relieve the load on the joints by as much as 4 kilograms.
3. Avoid dehydration. It is not easy for a dehydrated cardiovascular system to efficiently cope with delivering nutrients to bone tissue. This can lead to a decrease in the elasticity of cartilage tissue and, as a result, to arthritis and arthrosis.
4. Get rid of bad habits. When a person abuses coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes (not to mention narcotic substances), it severely dehydrates the body, bones become more fragile, cartilage dries out, and joint diseases appear much earlier.
5. Be active. No need for grueling training! Even simple daily exercise will improve blood circulation and keep muscles in shape, and the load on cartilage tissues will decrease.
6. Do not "leave to chance" chronic diseases. Any infectious disease can develop into a chronic one if you do not consult a doctor in time. And what about joints? It's simple: if a person gets injured, the risk of an infection getting into the joint increases. Therefore, if you have had an injury and at the same time have a chronic infection, do not neglect to visit a traumatologist, and do not self-medicate

Secondary prevention of joints diseases

This type of prevention is necessary when a person already has joint diseases. The aim of such "secondary prevention"  is to stop the progression of the disease and prevent complications.

Such recommendations, as a rule, are prescribed by the attending physician, who is aware of the disease and the individual characteristics of the patient's body.

Some basic actions can be recommended to you:

❏ drug treatment with chondroprotective and other drugs,

❏ special anti-arthritic massages with warming ointments,

❏ therapeutic gymnastics of swimming, cycling, and even ordinary walking,

❏ orthopedic devices aimed to prevent joint diseases (special insoles, corsets, orthoses, and bandages).

Ask for bandages TM "MedTextile" at pharmacies in your city.