It’s common to think joint pain only affects elderly people or those who’ve experienced injuries. The truth is millions of people suffer from joint pain, including athletes or anyone who exercises regularly. People who regularly strength-train likely have experienced joint pain before, and many probably deal with it on a regular basis. And no, it’s not something you should ignore. In fact, in many cases, joint pain can be prevented or treated.
Here are some of the ways you might be causing yourself some joint pain:
• You’re not warming up well enough
• You max out too often
• You train too long
• You don’t use the correct form
• You don’t rest
If you exercise on a regular basis, check the items listed above to see if they don’t describe you. If that’s not the case, you might have another joint issue going on that you need to address, like arthritis, tendonitis, or bursitis.
Notice anything similar between those three things? They all end in “itis.” In the medical world, the suffix “itis” means inflammation. Appendicitis? Inflamed appendix. Colitis? Inflamed colon. I’m sure you can think of a lot more. The three issues mentioned above are all different types of joint inflammation.
Although they’re all a little different, each of them are inflammation issues in your body. And when you get injured, more often than not, you’re going to have inflammation at the site because your body is reacting and trying to heal it.
When you’re feeling achy or you’ve gotten injured, do you reach for the ibuprofen? If you do, the reason it works is because ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. It specifically targets swelling and inflammation. The problem is, if you’re dealing with chronic or ongoing joint pain, you probably don’t want to be gulping down pain-relief pills every day. So, what do you do?
You may wish to consider some supplements that specifically reduce inflammation in injured athletes, but ultimately, if you’re experiencing ongoing joint pain, you probably need to rest those joints so they can heal. I know, it sucks to be down and out, but you don’t want to continue on in pain so it’s necessary.
Most importantly, you should make some changes to your diet to help reduce inflammation. Foods that fight inflammation include:
• tomatoes
• olive oil
• green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards
• nuts like almonds and walnuts
• fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines
• fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges
Some foods also cause inflammation so try to steer clear of red meats and processed meats, margarine, soda and soft drink, fried food and refined carbohydrates like white bread.
If you would like to know more about how your diet can be modified to assist your body to function better, feel free to book in for a nutrition session below.
https://www.integral-wellness.ca/nutrition/
Remember this is general advice and you should visit your general practitioner before taking any new supplements or making drastic changes to your diet.
