Health blog Category: Joint Pain
Joint Stiffness and How to Cure it
Defining Joint Stiffness
At some point or another in life we experience joint stiffness. This is a situation in the body where we feel tightness in the parts of our body that bend like; the elbows, wrists, shoulders, hips, knees, neck, lower back, and ankles.
Common Causes of Joint Stiffness:
- muscular tightness
- capsular/ligamentous tightness
- muscle weakness causing poor joint alignment and tracking
- loss of joint space with osteoarthritis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- structural damage from wear and tear or injury and the resulting inflammation
How Joint Stiffness Affects Us
Joint stiffness presents with the sensation of not being able to fully rotate, bend, or extend a joint in the body.
Read full blogNatural Ways to Beat Joint Pain
Our joints rely on the ability to move properly, have adequate muscle support and to be well-lubricated. When any of these points suffer, increased pressure is created in the joint causing the cartilage to rub together. This can lead to our joint cartilage wearing down and arthritis.
Joint pain debilitates millions of people annually and can play a significant role in our ability to perform normal everyday tasks. If we understand the mechanics of our joints, there are several things we can do to help our body move faster and without pain.
How Hip Pain Impacts Our Lives
Hip pain is a very common problem which can cause difficulty with many daily activities. A common complaint is pain localized to the hip joint and muscles surrounding the joint. Some people also experience stiffness in and around the hip and the lower back.
Impacts on Our Lives:
Hip pain causes difficulty moving the joint and generalized weakness in the affected leg. When dealing with pain or stiffness in your hip, it can create difficulty:
- Walking
- Going up or down stairs
- Squatting
- Standing up from a chair
- Prolonged sitting
- Prolonged standing
Significant stiffness in our hips, also creates difficulty with tasks such as sitting with our legs crossed, putting on shoes and socks, and getting in and out of our car.
Read full blogStrengthen, Lengthen, and Reduce Pain in Our Joints
Joint health is something that ALL ages need to be concerned about, not just older populations. The more we educate ourselves, the less likely we are to develop joint conditions like arthritis or general joint pain and stiffness. Healthy joints are key to living a pain free life. Unfortunately, nearly half of Americans over the age of 65 are dealing with arthritis somewhere in their bodies, according to the CDC.
Arthritis is a condition in which inflammation has invaded the joint space and is causing joint stiffness and/or pain.
That Pinching in Our Shoulder
What is shoulder impingement?
When the muscles of our rotator cuff become subjected to repeated pinching in between the rounded head of the humerus bone and the acromion process (a bony prominence from the shoulder blade that forms a roof over top of the ball and socket joint) shoulder impingement is occurring. This pinching may only be a discomfort or may not even produce pain at first, but with repetition, our rotator cuff muscles will become inflamed.
Read full blogBursitis Pain and How it Occurs
Let’s Start by Defining Bursitis.
Our bodies are amazing and have been equipped to deal with our bones rubbing or grinding together because we have ‘joint pillows’.
Bursae are thin, lubricated cushions located at points of friction between a bone and the surrounding soft tissue. They are found all over our body including the shoulders, knees, hips, heels and elbows. These sacs cushion and lubricate our bones so they don’t grind away.
The Impact of Knee Pain
Any kind of knee pain or stiffness makes simple daily activities such as walking, going up or down the stairs, squatting, and standing up from a chair, difficult.
The number one complaint from someone experiencing any kind of knee problem is pain under or around the knee cap. This type of pain can greatly limit functional mobility.
Some people also experience stiffness in and around the knee making it difficult to move the joint.
Hip, Knee, and Ankle Joints Are All Affecting Us
The knee joint is the second most complicated joint in our body and has to move in many directions. The knee and hip work in tandem allowing us to walk, run, squat and kneel. When either our hip, knee or ankle have problems moving, the other joints can be strained causing pain. Therefore, even if we have pain in your knees, it could be a problem stemming from your hip or ankle.
Most problems in the knee or hip come from either too little activity or too much activity.
Our Pain Might Be From Tendonitis or Bursitis
We will experience some episode of pain at one point or another during our life. It’s common for a quick scan of the internet or visit to a doctor to reveal a vague diagnosis of tendonitis or bursitis as the primary cause of that pain. While these works may or may not reflect the correct cause of the painful symptoms, how many of us actually know what these terms mean?
Furthermore, and more importantly, do we understand what causes tendonitis and bursitis, how they are treated and how to prevent them?
Here’s Why Our Hip Hurts
Hip problems can make our daily activities such as walking, difficult and painful. The most common causes of hip pain are due to wear and tear, and overuse. This means that most hip problems are the result of repetitive movements we do on a daily basis. Because this joint is necessary for weight bearing activities like standing, walking and running, it can be a source of pain among all ages – not just the older population.
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