Prepare Your Joints for Summer
As the summer quickly approaches, make sure to nourish your joints and warm them up before activity, and don’t forget a cool-down routine afterward to help minimize joint injuries.
If you’re gearing up for increased sports and recreation this summer, it’s important to properly prepare your joints, especially if you were less active during the winter and spring. Here are 5 tips for strong joints this summer and the seasons that follow.
- Nourish your joints – a nutritious diet provides your joints with essential vitamins and minerals that support the integrity, function, and flexibility of joint tissue, while sugary and fatty foods (e.g., cookies, cake, fast food) can trigger abnormal inflammatory responses in joint tissue.
Adding supplements to the diet, like Ostinol® InstaJOINT, also supplies the joints with beneficial, fast-acting nutrients. Following vigorous activity or joint distress, the body needs a combination of revitalizing growth factors and antioxidant compounds to reinforce important processes involved in joint tissue rejuvenation. Ostinol® InstaJOINT is powered by Cyplexinol®, a specialized growth-factor complex, plus antioxidants, such as Boswellia and ApresFLEX®, for joint support. Consider adding this useful nutraceutical to your diet today.
- Stretch and warm up properly – Before any sports or recreational activity, it is important to stretch and warm up your joints. An easy way to warm up includes shoulder rolls, neck rolls, knee lifts, and marching in place for a few minutes. These types of movements prepare the joints, muscles, lungs, and heart for exercise.
When you finish warming up, perform dynamic stretches that help your joints begin to gently move in full ranges of motion, such as walking lunges and cross-body arm swings. Dynamic stretching techniques are controlled movements that relax the joints and muscles and heighten overall flexibility. Studies show that performing a dynamic warm-up routine helps minimize injuries and enhances the range of motion in the joints.
However, static stretches that involve holding a fixed position for a certain period (e.g., shoulder stretch, hip and thigh stretch) should be avoided, as this may lead to joint distress by overextending or exhausting the joints before the activity begins. Overall, the important point to remember is to warm up before any type of vigorous summer activity.
- Pay attention to posture – One of the most common causes of joint stiffness, discomfort, and injuries is poor posture. Performing repetitive movements, such as throwing a ball, swinging a golf club or bat, or riding a bike with improper form and posture can lead to unexpected joint distress. Paying attention to your body movements or requesting assistance from a trainer can help you avoid joint discomfort due to bad posture.
- Stay hydrated – Staying hydrated is vital for healthy circulation, joint lubrication and function, temperature regulation, stamina, and endurance. Drinking lots of water also minimizes the risks of muscle cramping, joint tissue damage, and performance issues.
- Play it smart – If you are recovering from joint distress or a previous injury, make sure to use the right gear and equipment during your summer events. Wearing the right types of footwear can make a difference, and it may also be helpful to wear a brace to protect your joints. When in doubt, speak with an expert or health professional about proper joint support.
Don’t let unnecessary joint issues slow you down. Get your body ready for summer with a balanced diet, dynamic warm-up stretches, good postural habits, and a blend of specialized growth factors and antioxidants that help your body rejuvenate joint tissue.
Ostinol® InstaJOINT contains a patented growth-factor complex and a fast-acting combination of antioxidant ingredients for advanced joint support. Gain a competitive edge this summer with the ideal boost of nutrients.