How to strengthen joints and ligaments: remedies and exercises

Joints are the most common joints in the human skeleton. They provide free movement, but within the limits determined by their shape.

Systematic physical activity is important at any age. It provides significant benefits to the entire body: strengthens muscles and joints, preserves and even increases the strength of bones, improves posture, elasticity of ligaments and balance, increases endurance and resistance to stress. To maintain the tone of the musculoskeletal system, it is necessary to give it a certain load every day.

Joints and their role in the human skeleton

Joints are the most common joints in the human skeleton. They provide free movement, but within the limits determined by their shape. The mobility of the joint reduces its strength, so they are additionally strengthened by fibrous ligaments.

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There are hundreds of joints in the human body. Some of them are small and unnoticeable, for example, in the wrists. And others are large and noticeable, for example, in the shoulders, knees and elbows. The mobility of these compounds in the body is very different. For example, a ball-and-socket shoulder joint allows you to move your arm in any direction, and flat intercarpal joints allow only minimal sliding of the bones relative to each other. The question of how to strengthen joints is more relevant today than ever.

Secondary prevention of joint diseases

Secondary prevention of joint arthrosis and other rheumatic diseases is aimed at containing the progression of the disease, preventing complications and irreversible changes in the joint. Some joint diseases (for example, reactive arthritis) can be cured in the early stages. If time is lost, they become chronic.

Recommendations for the prevention of joint diseases are drawn up by the attending physician, taking into account the stage of the lesions, the number of joints involved, the individual characteristics and capabilities of the patient. They often include:

special therapeutic exercises for the prevention of joint pain (daily);
massage (in particular, using warming ointments and balms);
orthopedic prevention of arthritis and arthrosis (use of canes, orthopedic insoles, corsets, orthoses and bandages);
drug therapy (courses, if necessary), as well as taking chondroprotectors;
spa treatment - if necessary;
regular preventive examinations;
standard preventive measures (healthy diet, weight control, protection from hypothermia, etc.).

These methods of preventing joint diseases help maintain joint mobility, prevent increased pain and the development of the inflammatory process.

Activities most beneficial for strengthening joints

Many people are interested in how to strengthen their joints. It is necessary to ensure minimal impact loads, such as walking, swimming, exercise on an exercise bike. Stretching exercises, including Pilates, help strengthen joints and reduce the risk of injury. These are the best remedies for strengthening joints.

To protect them from problems, you must follow some rules:

Go to an orthopedist. A qualified specialist should evaluate the condition of the ankle, knee and hip joints.
Control your weight. Excess weight is an extra load on all joints of the body, especially on the knees and hips. An increase of just 1 kg in weight increases the risk of developing arthrosis by 10-15%.
Choose the right shoes. Uncomfortable shoes, especially high-heeled ones, can ruin your posture and gait and lead to foot diseases. The best shoes are tight-fitting sneakers with arch support and soft soles; such shoes are the best prevention of injuries to the ankle, hip and knee joints.
Set up a workplace. An incorrectly placed computer or an uncomfortable posture at a desk creates problems for the spine, which, in turn, lead to back and neck pain.
Use more fish in your diet. Fish is rich in unsaturated fatty acids necessary for joints.
Do appropriate exercises that improve flexibility, posture, balance and coordination.

Complexes of physical exercises

You can strengthen the ligaments and joints with the help of daily static exercises, that is, those in which the muscles are tense, but the amplitude of their movements is insignificant. Additionally, it is recommended to use light weights during training.

When performing exercises, gradualness is important. You should not try to perform all the elements at once; the weight of dumbbells should also be minimal in the first days. Gymnastics begins with a light warm-up - walking in place, swinging your arms, turning to the side, bending. Ideally, it is necessary to select a complex for skeletal flexibility, the implementation of which will allow you to work out the entire muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the body.

Shoulder joint

Push-ups. The exercise not only strengthens the ligaments of the shoulder joint and chest, but also increases the endurance of the spine. You need to lie on your stomach, place your palms down, shoulder-width apart, rest your toes on the floor, and straighten your back. When performing the exercise, you need to straighten up with outstretched arms and smoothly lower down. For starters, 2-3 push-ups are enough, then the number of repetitions can be increased to 10.
Swing your arms with dumbbells. You need to take weights in both hands, weighing no more than two kilograms each. Stretch your arms forward and swing them, range of motion – up to 14 degrees. Proper training leads to a burning sensation in the muscles; swings are performed until the arms refuse to move.

Knee-joint

Strengthening the ligaments of the knee joint will reduce the likelihood of sprains, fractures and damage to the meniscus. The most effective way to increase the elasticity and strength of the cruciate ligaments of the knee is through stretching exercises. Exercises with a load on the knee joint are performed while standing; it is recommended not to start exercising with them after injuries to this area, operations, or for people without physical training. Without load, gymnastics is performed from a lying position.

After a ligament rupture, exercises that are easy to perform and do not cause discomfort are first selected to develop them. If pain appears during exercise, then they are temporarily postponed and a complex of physical therapy exercises is practiced that does not cause pain.

The knees should be prepared to strengthen the ligaments; they help with this:

Swinging your leg back and forth from a sitting position on a chair.
Slips. You need to lie on your back, bend your knees and slide your feet along the floor.
Extension and flexion. From a position lying on your side, you need to bend and straighten your upper limb at the knee joint.
Stretching. Sit on the floor and try to reach your feet with your back straight.

After warming up, move on to the main exercises:

Squat. The exercise should be performed so that the thighs become parallel to the floor. You need to hold this position for a few seconds and then smoothly straighten up.
From a standing position, take a wide step to the side with one leg, immediately sit down, place the other limb and slowly stand up.
Jumping. You can train with a jump rope; the load on your knees is reduced if you land on slightly bent legs.

Strengthening the knee joint is facilitated by increased elasticity of the popliteal ligaments.

Their simplest training is walking up the stairs.

Hip joint

Stand up straight. Spread your legs shoulder-width apart, place your palms on your waist. The torso must be turned to the sides as deeply as possible, but the feet should not come off the surface.
Lie on your back. The leg must be bent so that its thigh part is vertical, and the lower part, up to the shin, takes a horizontal position. Then you need to carefully straighten the leg, grab the shin and pull the limb towards you. After this, the leg bends again and straightens down to the floor.
Sit on the floor with your knees bent. Place an elastic ball between your knees and press it, trying to hold it for up to 15 seconds. The exercise is performed 10-15 times.

Ankle joint

Sprains and dislocations most often occur in the ankle joint. Easy-to-do exercises will help strengthen your ligaments.

It is necessary to constantly practice walking on your toes, the outer and inner sides of the foot; naturally, at first it is better to do this without haste at home. Strengthening the muscular-ligamentous system is facilitated by rotating the feet in different directions, walking barefoot on sand and pebbles.

Of the special exercises, orthopedists often recommend the following:

Rolling a water bottle on the floor with your feet.
Picking up small objects with bent toes.
Jumping rope.

You can also use an elastic rubber band for exercise. One end of it is strengthened on a strong support, and the foot is threaded into the free part. After this, you need to stretch the tape and pull your foot towards you.

Elbow joint

Swinging to the sides, forward and backward with straightened upper limbs helps in strengthening the ligaments of the elbow joint. To increase the load, you can use a rubber band. Its middle part is pressed to the floor with your feet, the ends are taken in your hands and exercises are performed.

You can also increase the strength of the ligaments in your elbow by training your biceps. Dumbbells of 1-2 kg are used as weighting material. Swings should be performed in such a way that only part of the arm up to the elbow moves.

Joints of the hand

The joints of the hands can be trained using expanders and wrist simulators. Squeezing and unclenching them for just 10-15 minutes a day reduces the load on the muscular-ligamentous system, increases its endurance, and improves metabolic reactions.

To train the wrist joints, hanging on a horizontal bar with all fingers fully covering the bar is suitable. You can do this exercise every day - place your palms on the table, raise your fingers up and try to hold them in this position for as long as possible. Improving the flexibility of the wrist and small joints of the fingers is facilitated by rotating the hands clenched into a fist in different directions.

Basic exercises to strengthen the ligaments of the shoulder and knee joints

What physical exercise is good for joints and ligaments?

Various physical activities bring undoubted benefits to the entire body. How to strengthen joints, muscles and ligaments will be shown by the effect on them of each individual type of physical activity:

Aerobics improves blood supply to joints and strengthens ligaments.
Stretching increases range of motion, reduces stiffness, and relieves pain.
Strength training strengthens ligaments and tendons.
Jogging strengthens the ligaments and tendons of the lower body.
Swimming improves maneuverability and blood supply to joints.
Dancing improves blood circulation and coordination.
Walking increases mobility.
Jumping strengthens the ligaments and tendons of the lower body.
Pilates increases range of motion, reduces stiffness, and relieves pain.

Exercises for shoulder muscles and ligament relief

Overexertion of the muscles of the shoulders and upper back can lead to very painful conditions. Slouching at your desk and hunched posture often leads to tight chest muscles and pulled muscles in the shoulders and back, which in turn leads to headaches and muscle pain in this area.

The following exercises will show you how to strengthen the shoulder joint:

Shrug. In a standing position, raise your shoulders to your ears, connecting your shoulder blades, then move them back and lower them.
Shoulder abduction and abduction. Push your shoulders forward as much as possible, then move them further back, bringing your shoulder blades together.
Back stretching. Sit on a chair with your feet on the floor. Slowly lean forward. Stretch your arms between your legs and reach the legs of the chair until you feel a strong stretch in your upper back. Slowly take your original position.

Half squats with resistance

Stand facing the door. Fasten one end of the expander under the knee of the leg being worked out, and the other end to a door or other stationary object at the level of the knee joint. Raise your free leg off the floor; you can hold on to a chair or armchair for balance. Bend the knee you are working on slightly (do a half squat on one leg), then slowly straighten your leg. Repeat 15 times. You can simplify the exercise by not lifting your free leg.

Proper nutrition

Healthy nutrition is important at any age: both in childhood, when bones and muscles are actively growing, and in old age, when tissues weaken. Healthy bone tissue always requires a certain minimum of vitamins and minerals supplied from food, primarily calcium.

How to strengthen joints and ligaments with nutrition? Food provides the body with energy, which is necessary for the whole body, like fuel for a car. Protein in food is used by the body as a building material. It is interesting that human bone tissue is continuously destroyed and grows. Over the course of 7-10 years, the mineral substance of the adult human skeleton is completely renewed. And in childhood, when a child grows quickly, his skeleton is completely renewed in 2 years. Some trace elements and vitamins are especially beneficial for bones, joints and muscles. Before strengthening your joints through exercise, you need to provide your body with proper nutrition.

Products for healthy muscles, bones and joints

The required amount can be easily obtained from a balanced, varied diet, including the following food groups:

Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream).
Fats and carbohydrates (vegetable oil, nuts, fish).
Fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, dried).
Proteins (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds).

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If the daily menu does not correspond to adequate nutrition, it is advisable to take dietary supplements for the musculoskeletal system :

calcium;
vitamin D;
magnesium;
omega-3 fatty acids.

A person should receive the largest doses of calcium in the first 20 years of life, when bone strength is established during the period of active growth. In addition , high doses of calcium are also necessary closer to old age , when bone mineral density decreases for natural reasons and the risk of fractures increases.

Foods that may affect calcium absorption

Some nutrients and vitamins can help with calcium absorption or, conversely, lead to increased calcium excretion from the body.

Vitamin D increases the rate of calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.
Protein is a very important element for the formation and regeneration of tissues and for the adequate functioning of the immune system. However, some studies have shown that when patients consume too much protein based on calcium intake, calcium is washed out of the bones while the excess protein is burned.
Sodium chloride (table salt) increases the excretion of calcium in the urine, and it does not have time to be properly absorbed.
Phosphoric acid is found in carbonated drinks. It is believed that phosphoric acid replaces calcium in the bones and therefore it is recommended not to overindulge in carbonated drinks.
Caffeine found in tea or coffee also leads to bone loss, especially if the patient does not consume enough calcium.

Knee health

Throughout life, knees are subject to enormous stress. Their joints constantly support the weight of the body, and also suffer from household and sports injuries. The knee is the largest and most complex joint in the human body ; many muscles, ligaments and tendons are involved in its work, the coherence of which ensures the stability of the knee and the function of the leg.

The bones of the lower body are greatly affected by gravity, and when simply walking, a person's knees are subjected to a force that is 4-5 times their weight. And during sports, when your feet hit the ground, this force can exceed your body weight by more than 12 times. Therefore, excess weight sharply increases the risk of knee injuries and is the root cause of half of all operations to restore articular knee cartilage.

The role of ligaments

The knee joint has cruciate and collateral ligaments . These are ligaments that strengthen the joint. Fibrous interosseous ligaments, which strengthen the knee joint, also control movement in it. They can pass inside its cavity, in the walls of the joint capsule and outside it. These strong bands of connective tissue connect the articulated bones and are essential to their strength, as a healthy ligament can stretch up to 5% of its original length.

Further stretching threatens injury, sprain. This is the appearance of micro-tears inside the tissue, leading to pain and swelling of the joint, as well as a decrease in its maneuverability. Under increased loads, especially in sports, ligaments can be torn; such an injury is possible even if you fall. This causes pain and swelling, and the stability of the knee decreases.

Adduction of the leg

Stand sideways, with the leg you are working on (without the expander) further from the door. Bring your leg (with the expander) away from the door behind the one you are working on. 2 sets of 15 reps.

Exercises on a balancing platform

Stand on the balancing platform. Optimal position: feet shoulder-width apart.