1. Exercise- Common urban legend that exercise is bad for your joints.

-Most people have little appreciation for how powerful exercise can be in supporting joint function.

-Vigorous low-impact exercise is beneficial for your joints, as well as for cardiovascular, pulmonary, and other systems in your body.

**It’s simply a myth that you can ‘wear down’ your knees just from average levels of exercise and/or normal activity. In fact, inactivity causes your muscles to become weaker and actually works against optimal joint flexibility and comfort. One caution, however when using this valuable tool, you need to start slowly if you have not been exercising regularly, and build up to higher activity levels otherwise you risk incurring an injury that could cause really set you back..

-If typical vigorous exercise is not easy for you, try walking, and yoga because they are very low impact and offer many health benefits.

2. Achieve your optimal weight to improve your bio-mechanic function.

-One of the outstanding benefits of exercise is its ability to help you achieve and maintain your ideal weight

-Overweight and obese people compromise joint comfort more than those who are carrying their ideal load (each kg (2.2 lbs.) of body mass increases the compressive load over your knee by roughly 4 kilograms [nearly 9 pounds]).

Losing weight reduces the load on your joints and makes it easier to exercise, and exercising helps you lose weight and supports your joint health.

3. Eat a higher quality diet.

-Eliminate sugar and starchy carbs from your diet (that includes soda!) and eat foods with high amounts of antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties (oranges, tart cherries, grapes, garlic, turmeric)

-You should limit your total fructose from ALL sources to no more than 25 grams per day, as it raises uric acid levels, which is hard on your joints

Approximately of Americans consume a whopping 134 grams of fructose every day!
4. Optimize your vitamin D levels.

-Vitamin D also supports a healthy immune response and can drop quickly during the fall, winter, and early spring months in the US.

5. Get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids from krill or high quality fish oil: Omega-3’s support your joint, heart, and liver health.

*If your joint pain persists, please contact Dr. Marion or Dr. Zid to find out how you can get back to doing what you enjoy most!