Maintaining Healthy Joints
An American corporation that is known for providing human health and wellness online is WebMD. It publishes content that deals with health topics that include symptoms checklist, pharmacy information, drug information, blogs of physicians, and provides a place to store personal medical information. WebMD may seem to generalize symptoms to be more of a serious disease, but they are taking precautions for the public. It is beneficial for people to have access to the information that WebMD provides while taking precaution not to over-analyze their symptoms.
According to WebMD, joints begin between the two bones. “Smooth tissue called cartilage and synovium and a lubricant called synovial fluid cushion the joints so bones do not rub together” (WebMD, 2016, par. 3). Physique impacts the weight that is placed upon the joints. Weight reduces pressure placed on lower body parts that support the body such as knees, hips, and back. Research has shown that with every pound of body weight, a person applies four times the amount of stress on the knees (WebMD, 2016). A person’s knees are used for all lower body movement and can easily accumulate a large amount of stress from running and similar activities. The femur and tibia hit the patella, the knee bone, at the same time and can cause grinding that will eventually result in arthritis.
Individuals can prevent chronic damage to the knees from happening by keeping bones, muscles, and ligaments strong with simple and low impact workouts. Aerobic exercises, such as swimming, are suggested to prevent the joints from swelling. Swimming puts lesser amounts of stress on joints than high impact exercises. Weight training can help build more muscle surrounding the ligaments to cushion each step (WebMD, 2016). An important area to focus on when considering weight training is the core. Core strength can reduce the amount of tension on the back.
Sitting and standing up straight can protect one’s joints from their neck to their knees; proper posture guards the individual’s hip joints and back muscles. A useful tool for college students is to not have one’s bookbag only over one shoulder. When only on one shoulder, the joints become lopsided (WebMD, 2016). Posture and how an individual carries or lifts items may seem unimportant, but can make a big difference.
References:
Derrer, T, David. (2016). WebMD. Arthritis Health Care. Retrieved February 19, 2016, from http://www.webmd.com/arthritis/caring-your-joints
Autumn, thank you for your post on healthy joints and some advice as well. I agree with you that WebMD provides lots of content on healthy joints and some information regarding them. After reading through your post, I came across some things that I was unaware about on healthy joints. I did not know that people put a large amount of stress on their knees and that this stress on the joints can be reduced if college students do not put their backpack only over one shoulder. I think that is something that many college students should keep in mind. I also agree that there are many ways to prevent joint issues, and one of the main ways is for people to exercise and stay active so that their joints stay active as well. I have had some joint problems in the past because I was told that mine are weak, so working out and staying active has really helped me to make them stronger. Thank you for your post and this great information that you provided!
ReplyDeleteEmily, yes I think our age group benefits from the simple knowledge of the backpack idea. I am glad you found the post informational. It is great to hear with appropriate exercise that your joints are becoming stronger. I want to congratulate you on strengthening your joints because in the beginning it is not easy to do.
DeleteThe information in this post about healthy and strong bones, and workout that can be done is so helpful especially since i have a hip injury. This makes it easy to know what workouts are best and what can i do to improve. Also, the information to college students about the book bag over the shoulder is so helpful because i see so many people who carry those kind of bags. WebMd gives great information and techniques that we wouldn't think of on our own. This information was so helpful to me since i have issues dealing with bones. Great!
ReplyDeleteKaila, I to have noticed quite a few students on campus who have these type of backpacks and want to tell them it makes their joints lopsided after reading the information on WebMD. I am glad this post has helped you with your hip injury. I wish you all of luck on strengthening your bones and joints.
DeleteThis is filled with great information. I was not aware that more of the stress and pressure goes to your knees. I think it would be great to find ways to relieve some of that pressure and I agree with you about the backpacks. Wearing your backpack on only one side can cause lifelong problems on your body, so why do students still do it? Is it because it is routine or they feel cool? I think this is something college students should invest some time in and try to fix it before it is too late. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you Amy. I think it may be a habit of ours, we rush and just throw on our backpacks and don't realize the consequence.
DeleteGreat post Autumn! This is filled with some very informative information. I have an Associate's Degree in Science and can relate to this information because of the classes I have taken and also from personal experiences. I had dislocated my right patella four times during my life. All the times it was related to the ligaments and the strength or pull on each side. For me, the patella was pulled to the outside. After physical therapy after each occurrence, I have found that I have lost some of my range of motion. I look forward to your next posts!
ReplyDeleteI also have an Associate's Degree in the same field. I am sorry to hear about your right patella. Four times is quite a bit. My next post will be on healthy joint food.
DeleteI really liked this blog entry!! Of course I learned something but I was not expecting all that you mentioned. I know over time very intense workouts can cause stress on your joints. Recently I have seen so many health trainers and workout models do exercises that look very painful and although it maybe beneficial for the body to look good now but later they will notice the wear and tear on their body. I like how you talked about ways of improving posture and joint health too!
ReplyDeleteYes Jessica, it is important to think about the long term effects the exercises have on our body. I am glad you see the same problem.
DeleteThis post gave me a lot of new information I never would have expected to think of. I never knew that most of the stress that goes to your knees is because of putting your backpack only on one shoulder. I never actually put my bag on one shoulder but now i know to keep it in mind and let others know of what it is doing. This really helped a lot.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed the post Michael. I caught myself putting my backpack on one side previously. After reading I realized I cannot do this anymore. Thanks for reading my post.
DeleteI love the layout of this blog. 1) I love the information provided. You got straight to the point in informing us on joints. 2) I love the blog because I use to play sports in high school and I have bad knees but I never knew that with every pound of body weight, a person applies four times the amount of stress on the knees. Great information. Great Blog. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anisha. Yes, I found some pretty interesting information on WebMD. I thought the amount of stress the body puts on the knees is surprising as well.
DeleteI think this is a very important topic to read up on. Not many people think about joint health when it comes to being a healthy person. Most people are worried about looking skinny instead of the amount of stress the body puts on the knees.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post and the way the information was presented. It was easy to comprehend the information and I found it to be really interesting. Good job!
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