How to Keep Your Joints Strong as You Get Older

Healthy Aging Month runs throughout September, but for people who have just had their 50th birthday, most of the focus isn’t on heart disease or fears about losing their memory. Instead, it’s on issues related to their joints, including those in their hips, shoulders, and hands. 

Joints are more important than most people realize. Before people experience joint pain, they rarely notice that joints are essential for everyday activities like getting into the car, walking downstairs, or picking up grandchildren.

Fortunately, joint aging isn’t something that occurs all at once. Instead, joints tend to gradually decline as we age, with the steepness of that decline depending mainly on lifestyle habits.

How Joints Change with Age

Joints can change significantly with age, and it’s all to do with how the passage of time affects individual tissues like cartilage, ligaments, bones, tendons, and the fluid that runs between them.

• Cartilage is the smooth cushion that covers the ends of bones and prevents them from grinding together. When people are young, it repairs itself reasonably quickly, but over time it can thin and repair more slowly.
• The synovial fluid is a type of lubrication for joints, which is plentiful when we are young but can wane significantly as we age.
• Ligaments and tendons can lose some of their elasticity after the age of 50. This is one of the reasons why older people sometimes complain of joints feeling tighter in the morning.

Fortunately, none of this means pain is inevitable. Many people have healthy joints that function well into their 70s and 80s. Ultimately, the degree to which joints change depends on how much load they carry over the course of a lifetime, the strength of the muscles around the joint, and whether small problems are dealt with early.

Habits to Protect Your Long-Term Mobility

So, what can you do individually to protect your long-term mobility, especially if you are over age 50?

Keep Moving Well

Start by ensuring that you move well and get plenty of physical activity. Don’t spend all of your time sitting down, and try to engage in a variety of movements. Most older people find a combination of swimming, aerobics, and low-impact activities like walking and cycling to be the best options. Try to get around 150 minutes of exercise per week.

Build Strength Around the Joint

The next piece of advice is to start building real strength around the joint. Increasing the strength of your quadriceps can actually protect your knees, and strong hips and glutes can improve joint conditions that affect the lower back and hips. All you need is two or three short strength sessions per week to have the desired effect. Don’t worry; you won’t start looking like a bodybuilder.

Manage Your Weight

Every extra pound of body weight actually adds more than one extra pound to your joints. For example, research suggests that one extra pound of body weight adds four pounds of pressure to the knees with each step.

You should find, therefore, that if you manage your weight or lose a few pounds, your joints feel better. They’re under less stress.

Maintain Your Flexibility and Focus on Balance

You could also try maintaining your flexibility and focusing on balance. People with broader ranges of motion tend to have greater strength and a lower risk of falling. Falling is a leading cause of serious joint injuries in older adults.

Eat well

It’s always a good idea to eat well to protect your joints. Focusing on green leafy vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and beans can be a great way to keep your joints feeling supple. Vitamin D and calcium are also beneficial for the bones underneath. 

Recover Well

Finally, pay attention to recovery. If you are over 50, avoid training hard for two or more days in a row. Ensure you’re getting enough sleep and not pushing through any sharp pain you might be experiencing.

When to Explore Stiffness and Aches Further

While it might seem normal to feel a bit stiff in the morning for 20 to 30 minutes, it’s also worth speaking to a physician if you’re noticing sharp pains, soreness, or stiffness that won’t go away.

Here are some situations where you might want to talk to a doctor:

• Joint pain that wakes you up at night
• Pain that’s changing how you walk or adjusting your gait
• Difficulty moving through the same range of motion
• Stiffness that goes on all morning instead of just a few minutes
• Warmth, redness, or tenderness around the joint

These symptoms aren’t just about getting older. They can indicate that there may be a real issue with the joints, such as osteoarthritis, meniscus tears, rotator cuff tears, or bursitis. Waiting too long to deal with these issues can actually lead to further damage and leave you in more pain in the future.

How Orthopedic Specialists Help Older Adults Stay Active

Orthopedic doctors can help you in various ways to deal with joint pain issues and keep your joints strong as you get older. They’ll usually get you to undergo a physical exam and offer imaging when needed, then provide you with a care plan so you can manage any joint pain while maintaining an active and independent lifestyle.

Usually, plans are non-surgical and include options like physical therapy or pain management. Sometimes you may receive bracing or supportive devices, or anti-inflammatory injections into sites that are particularly inflamed or painful.

Surgery can be an option sometimes, but only when needed. Most joint conditions are manageable using non-invasive techniques, although the situation can change over time.

Get Seen at DOC Without Waiting Weeks

Many people worry about how long it’s going to take to get seen by their doctor when they have joint pain. One of the great things about coming to Direct Orthopedic Care (DOC) is that we can see you quickly and save you having to go through the process of getting a referral and a specialist appointment separately. Many of our locations offer walk-in orthopedic care seven days a week, so you can get treatment when you need it.

Come to our practices if you need an orthopedic doctor in Austin, TX, an orthopedic clinic in Fort Worth, TX, or an orthopedic doctor in Dallas, TX. Find a DOC location near you or schedule an appointment online.