What Causes Joint Pain…and What You Can Do About It

One of the unavoidable features of getting older is that stuff hurts.

Some days it may seem like everything hurts…from your ankles and knees to your hips and on up to your back, shoulders, and neck. Maybe throw in your elbows, wrists, fingers, and toes for good measure.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. If your joints hurt, there’s a reason. It means something is wrong. Figure out the cause and you’re on the way to a solution.

There are several causes for joint pain:

1. Daily Wear and Tear

Every day, your joints do a lot of work. This puts stress on the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage surrounding your joints.

Your body has an amazing ability to repair this daily damage, but this ability diminishes with age. An accumulation of tears, strains, and wear can result in joint pain.

2. Old Injuries

If you suffered a joint injury when you were younger, you may have cartilage damage in that joint. With age, this cartilage damage can get progressively worse. This is often called “post-traumatic arthritis”.

The results can include long-term joint pain, swelling, and reduced range of motion.

3. Arthritis

Arthritis is caused by cartilage damage in the joint, which can result in pain and swelling.

There are two main types of arthritis:

Osteoarthritis results from age-related degeneration of cartilage in the joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease that causes the immune system to attack joints, causing pain and inflammation.

4. Obesity

Being overweight puts stress on your back, hips, knees, and ankles.

In fact, even something as simple as walking puts stress on your joints equal to one and a half times your body weight. The results can include muscle strains, tendonitis, and cartilage loss.

5. Hormone Imbalance

Estrogen and testosterone play important roles in bone and joint maintenance. Deficiencies in these hormones due to menopause (in women) and andropause (in men) can result in inflammation and osteoporosis.

6. Stress

Your body releases cortisol during periods of stress. Among other things, cortisol causes inflammation.

When cortisol is released for extended periods of time due to long-term stress, it can cause joint inflammation.

What You Can Do About It

When it comes to joint problems, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Once major joint damage has occurred, the remedies are often limited to anti-inflammatory drugs and surgical solutions.

The better option is to take care of your joints before problems become severe. Here are some ideas:

• Maintain a healthy weight to reduce stress on weight-bearing joints.
• Have joint injuries properly treated when they occur to minimize long-term damage.
• Warm up properly when you exercise and wear appropriate equipment (including the right kind of shoes).
• Take a daily joint health supplement to preserve cartilage (like glucosamine).
• Manage long term stress using meditation, exercise, and other stress management techniques to limit cortisol production.
• Get your hormone levels checked to ensure important hormones like estrogen and testosterone are optimized.

Your joints are part of your body’s “original equipment”. Make sure you take good care of them. Renew Youth can help by making sure your hormones are optimized.

Call us at 800-859-7511 or use our contact form to schedule your free consultation.

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