Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Habits to Ensure Healthy Muscles and Joints

By Ron Goldman

Nowadays life has become so busy that we almost forget about the health of our body. Taking care of our body is not about just going to a doctor when we feel sick, but adopting such habits that help in preventing the problems to occur in the future. Our muscles and joints are the least of our concern, so the end result is that we have to spend large amounts on surgeries or treatments we would not have needed anyways.

Our joints carry out an important function in our body. Our bones stay intact because of these joints. These should be taken care of as much as other parts of our body such as the teeth or eyes. Our joints are the points that facilitate our bones to bend flexibly. The muscles are attached to the bones with tendons, so that when bone moves, the muscle moves with it. As the time passes, the muscles become stronger and stronger due to exercise, enabling us to provide more energy and power.

The most common problems that cause muscle or joint pain are arthritis, muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis, repetitive stress injuries, tendinitis, and strains. I will go through all of these briefly, and then talk about preventative measures.

In Arthritis the joints turn out to be inflamed and patient feels difficulty moving them. It is generally common in older people, but also children have been known to have arthritis. Osteoporosis makes the tissue in the bone to get weaker and fragile thus making it easier for the bone to break. This is mostly common in women and even in younger girls whose body weight has been reduced to an unhealthy level. Muscular dystrophy is inherited and makes the muscles weaker and break down over time. Repetitive stress injuries are those injuries that are caused by too much stress being placed on one part of the body. This generally happens when the same actions are repeated again and again. Tennis elbow is one of its examples, which is caused by playing too much tennis or carpal tunnel from typing on a keyboard for very long durations. Strains and tendinitis could occur at any age, and occur typically when a muscle has been overstretched. This is most commonly caused by not warming up properly before a workout.

The best way to prevent most of these problems is to exercise. Exercising thirty minutes every day is the minimum, but we should aim for more. Care should be taken to warm up and cool down after every workout to prevent any muscle from becoming strained. It is important that we stretch all our muscles so that our body can stay healthy for a long time.

Keeping body fat levels down is another way to obtain stronger muscles. Large amounts of fat will cause the muscles to lose their elasticity over time, and this can decrease our strength and make us weaker. This is more common as we grow old, and the best preventative measure is to watch our weight and not let ourselves become overweight. Increasing blood circulation is another way in which we can keep our muscles healthy, as blood flow helps the muscles.

Having a nutritious diet that includes all the necessary vitamins and nutrients is another way to prevent our joints and muscles from causing us problems. Taking in a minimum of three servings of dairy products provides the body with enough calcium to help rebuild the bones and prevents osteoporosis.

Make sure you watch your health now, so that you dont suffer from any problems and stay fit when you get old.

About the Author:

No comments: