 Joint-Friendly Summer Fun“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy...” As this popular song suggests, summer is the best time to enjoy an active lifestyle. Activities like swimming, biking, hiking, tennis, golf, kayaking, tai chi or just taking a quiet walk on the beach can lead to better health and an increased sense of well-being. What you want to avoid is having your joints give out, which can lead to a summer nursing an aching knee, sore shoulder, twisted ankle or painful hip. Studies show that most sports-related injuries involve joints. Painful joints become more common with age and the symptoms can range from mild irritation to total debilitation. Even short-term inflammation and swelling of joints can put a damper on your summer. The good news is that there are many proven approaches to help keep your joints strong and healthy so you can stay active, energized and injury-free all summer long. Read on for tips to help you maintain a healthy and invigorating summer exercise regimen.Try Something New and Different Summer is a fabulous time to try a whole new physical activity. Parks are full of classes, both daytime and evening. Check your local, county, and state parks for programs. You may get lucky and discover a line dancing class with live music on a balmy summer evening. Daytime is usually full of fun aquatic exercise classes. And group walks can take you to beautiful areas you’ve never explored on your own. Perhaps best of all, it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends who enjoy being active as much as you do. Mix It Up Don’t focus on only one exercise or sporting activity. Instead, develop a cross-training program to avoid the repetitive motion of a single activity that can cause joint problems over time. If you’re a swimmer, try some biking as well. If you’re into walking, rowing can help develop your upper body. By participating in a variety of physical activities, you avoid unnecessary strain on one part of your body while developing other parts of your body to help stabilize and protect your joints. Easy Does It It’s natural to want to do more of something that makes you feel good. Be careful that you don’t do too much, too often, especially when you start out. In the exhilaration of a new activity, it’s easy to overdo your workouts and put too much stress and strain on weaker muscles and joints. Always listen to your body and understand your range of motion. Never push past pain. Any soreness that lasts longer than 48 hours means you’ve overdone your exercise. If you take care of your muscles and joints, they’ll take care of you. Keep It Fluid Your joints have natural lubrication called synovial fluid that helps you move them without stress and friction. To get these juices flowing, always warm up before starting your exercise activities. Five minutes of slower walking, cycling, rowing, swimming or stretching should do it. Then gradually increase your effort. An effective way to take care of your joints and keep them lubricated is by regularly using Schiff® Move Free Advanced. It’s the only formula with the Advantage of 4®. Uniflex® protects, Joint Fluid replenishes, and Glucosamine and Chondroitin help rebuild joints. And Schiff® Move Free Advanced is clinically shown to start comforting sore joints in less than 7 days vs. 4-6 weeks with Glucosamine & Chondroitin alone.* Move Free® Advanced comes in 3 different formulas. Look for the addition of the clinically tested amount of MSM in our "Green Box" and the addition of MSM and Vitamin D3 in our "Blue Box." Be Centered If your muscles, tendons and ligaments are weak, they can’t do what they are intended to do -- protect your joints. Make sure your exercises include sets to strengthen your abdominal and back muscles. Strong abs and back muscles help improve your balance, which protects and contributes to joint health. Good posture protects your hip joints and back and is also important when lifting or carrying. If you use a backpack, be sure to put it over both shoulders instead of slinging it over one. Being lopsided puts more stress on your joints. Protect Yourself You may be a champion cyclist or rollerblader, but never attempt it without safety gear. One bad fall could mean a lifetime of joint pain. Remember to always wear a helmet, and sport-specific pads for knees, elbows, wrists and ankles when taking part in potentially dangerous activities. Elbow, knee and wrist braces can help reduce stress on your joints from tennis, golf, biking, rowing and other sports involving repetitive motion. And make sure that you have the right kind of footwear for your activity. There are big differences in the way various sports shoes support your feet. Running shoes aren’t designed for the sideways movement of tennis, water moccasins for kayaking won’t support your feet during long walks. The wrong kind of shoes can result in back, knee and hip injury. It’s a good idea to get your sports shoes properly fitted to suit your foot type. Find a specialist who will assess your foot and find the right shoe for your foot and activity. Comfort should be your number one priority, and it’s important to replace your sports shoes frequently. Chill Out Ice is a natural pain reliever. It helps relieve muscle strain, swelling and joint pain. If you have a painful joint or sore muscle, wrap some ice cubes in a thin towel or apply a cold pack to the area for up to 20 minutes. A bag of frozen peas or other vegetables wrapped in a cloth will also do the trick, too. Just make sure you don’t apply ice or a cold pack directly on your skin. For acute soreness, you can alternate applying ice 15 to 20 minutes on with 15 to 20 minutes off. For soreness that persists, experts recommend repeating ice for 15 to 20 minutes once every hour, for up to 3 days. Of course with any injury, pain that persists should be treated by a medical professional. Nourish Your Joints Don’t underestimate the importance of eating right. A healthy, balanced diet helps build strong bones. Make sure you get plenty of calcium every day by drinking milk and eating foods such as yogurt, broccoli, kale and figs. Vitamin D, from the sun or a Vitamin D supplement, is important for good bone and joint health. Salmon is great for your joints because it’s a good source of calcium and it also contains omega-3 fatty acids that promote healthy joints. Another great source of omega-3 fatty acids is Schiff® MegaRed® Omega-3 Krill Oil. It contains oil from pure Antarctic krill, tiny crustaceans that thrive in the frigid waters of the Antarctic. MegaRed® provides an optimal combination of omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids and critical antioxidants to support heart and joint health.** MegaRed® Omega-3 Krill Oil is quality tested for purity and because MegaRed® omega-3s are carried in phospholipid form, they are more easily absorbed into the body and therefore have no fishy aftertaste. Spread Your Wings If you’re attempting an outdoor activity for the first time or simply picking up an old routine, summer is a great time to get into shape. Longer daylight hours give you more time to exercise. Most importantly, regular outdoor physical activity will improve your health in a variety of ways. You’ll feel stronger, happier and less fatigued. So this summer, get out there, “...spread your wings, and take to the sky.” Uniflex® Proprietary Extract is covered by U.S. Patent No. 7,108,868, No. 7,192, 611 and additional patents pending. *Human clinical study (Los Angeles, 2008). |
