How to protect yourself from joint injuries

If you go to the gym regularly, you sure are familiar with muscle soreness and injuries. However, most of us really don’t notice another type of injuries that can take you out of the game for months; joint injuries. Your knees, elbows, shoulders, and back could really use a little more love from your side! Consider this article a guide to how to protect yourself from joint injuries and what supplements can help you, Olympia has got your back!

Fix it before it happens

It is possible, yes. How? Well, the idea is not to wait for joint pain and try to work around it, even though there are a million ways to do that, the big idea is to prevent it before it happens by building higher resistances to a given joint or body part. The first step in injury prevention is learning that each of us has a threshold, or a limit, you exceed this limit and injuries might occur, stay below it and you’ll be pain free. This threshold can of course increase when you take strategic workouts for endurance and strength, think of your body as a chain and your joints as links, if one links breaks down, the whole chain does too. So how do you maintain each joint separately?

The Rotator Cuff

Perhaps one of the most complex group of muscles that are used in almost every arm movement in multiple sports. The cuff injuries are infamous among crossfitters and people who don’t have a balanced workout. How do you prevent it? Always do mobility and rowing exercises that use retraction and depression to increase joint stability such as face pull and wall slide dumbbell raise.

The Lower Back

If you don’t take care of your lower back, you’ll suffer on a daily basis in everything you do, even sitting will become a hassle! The strongest link between lower back pain reliefs is perhaps the core muscles, even though research has struggled to prove it entirely. There are many ways to prevent it that should mainly focus on a few outcomes such as improved resting posture, core bracing and awareness, and increased core strength. So how do we stabilize the spine? The spine is supported by numerus muscles and we need to learn how to brace the core in order to protect it, much like expecting a punch to the stomach. Keep in mind that it isn’t all about strength, stamina is a major factor; you should always aim to stabilize your spine without twisting by training at higher ranges of motion.

The Knees

Every single movement you do affects your knees, going up the stairs, down the stairs, walking, and even standing! We have seen far too many athletes get ligament and tendon injuries in this specific joint. The best way to maintain your knee health is to balance out your leg muscles; your quads, hams, and glutes, must all be strong and in good shape in order to prevent any ligament damage or decay.

General & Nutritional Tips

There are multiple ways to improve your chances of avoiding joint injuries that include warming up properly, wearing good shoes, keeping up the pace without decreasing activity, and of course eating the right food! Which brings us to our next point. One of the main nutritional elements that should be included in your food or supplements is omega 3 fatty acids; it has proven to keep the joints well and healthy while reducing stiffness and pain, they can be found in egg yolk, fish, and of course are sold separately as supplements. If you know your nutrition, you know that vitamin D, specifically D3, is one of the best supplements recommended for joint pains! Check out our joint support supplements through this link; we only give you the best in Oman!