In today’s modern world, we need to move to maintain a healthy, vibrant body in much the same way sharks must swim to breathe. When we stagnate, our body atrophies, function diminishes and discomfort shadows our days. The remedy to this malady is as old we are as a species.
In today’s modern world, we need to move to maintain a healthy, vibrant body in much the same way sharks must swim to breathe. When we stagnate, our body atrophies, function diminishes and discomfort shadows our days. The remedy to this malady is as old we are as a species.
What Our Bodies Want
Physical movement is a function of how the nervous system controls the muscular system to move the skeletal system through space, all three systems working in synergy. The multidirectional axis to movement in the body is the joint, where two or more bones meet and form a three-dimensional fulcrum and also a conduit to further share forces throughout the body.
Depending on the architecture and surrounding elements of the joint, there will be varying degrees of stability and mobility. Some joints are quite stable, the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis for example, while others are very mobile – the shoulder is one such example. Two simple principles that unite the joints of the body are that they are multidirectional, and that must receive regular multidirectional movements to maintain health.
What We Can Do
Just as the body needs nutrition from food we eat, it is often helpful to consider how we satiate our ‘movement nutritional’ needs as well. “Simply put, joint health can be achieved by moving well and often. Just like a physician prescribes medication for an illness, exercises and mobility routines can also be prescribed to those who are looking to improve their joint health,” says Chiropractic Doctor Benjamin Bluestein from Joint Dynamics in Hong Kong. He adds, “Learning to control joints in your neck, back, shoulders, hips and knees is a great way to be proactive in preserving and improving motion. If individuals cannot move themselves safely, a healthcare professional can help.”
The Cost of Neglect
When we don’t feed the body the movement it regularly needs, some joints will lose range of motion which means the ‘slack’ must be taken up elsewhere. For example, if the hips become restricted as a result of extended periods of sitting, then the lower back will take on extra stress that can lead to pain and degeneration.
The cost affects us physically, and on our face in a similar fashion as a result of gastrointestinal distress, both far from attractive. The cost to industry is billions of dollars each year in increased medical and insurance costs and absenteeism and decreased performance, the call to action becoming increasingly urgent.
Miles Price, chief functional medicine officer from Biorna Quantics Hong Kong says, “Too often joint health is something we’re aware of when things go wrong. We forget how important maintenance is as it directly affects our mobility, productivity and daily movement patterns.” Key nutrients for joint health are proteins like glycine and proline, which can be found in gelatin, sourced directly as a powder or from consuming regular bone broths. Vitamin C-rich foods like grapefruit and capsicum are helpful, as are sulphur-rich foods like onion, leek and garlic.
Within the industry, ergonomics can neglect the biological need that the human body has to move in order to shunt oxygen, nutrients and lubricating fluids around the body to maintain a healthy physical body. Engineering the workplace to fit the worker is part of the equation, but when the worker must sit, physically zoo-ified, to make modern commerce happen for extended periods without any movement in between is when our body will start to complain.
A period of sitting coupled with regular short intervals of movement is not a threat, and conversely long periods of sitting without movement is foreign to our bodies. London Clinic Osteopath Alessio Savona explains, “Joints are prone to degeneration when over or under used. In osteopathy a relevant principle in this respect is ‘Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated’, meaning a joint needs to be structurally sound to function properly, but similarly, healthy joint use will keep it in good physical shape. Like a car, if a wheel is broken it can’t function properly; but also if it hasn’t run for a while it won’t switch on.”
Strategies
The act of simply standing each hour and stretching requires you to use your abdominal muscles, and for a time, dismiss the stresses of sitting. When you remain seated for hours on end these muscles go unused, leading to atrophy, weakness and an increased likelihood of weight gain. Dr Marcus Hewitson is a GP in Byron Bay, Australia specialising in personalised medicine and is a member of the Australian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine [ACNEM].
His strategies are to assess and address food intolerances and other sources of inflammation. “Some intolerances I see affecting joints are gluten-containing grains, lectins and less commonly, oxalates and nightshades. It is surprising how often inflammation and joint pain improves once inflammatory foods are excluded,” he says.
Hewitson advises maintaining an optimal weight, consuming a SLOW (seasonal local organic whole) food diet and striving for good gut health. “I have a lot more success prescribing dietary changes than joint supplements. No amount of supplementation will help if the problem is dietary. We can’t deny the role of genetics but most of the evidence points to lifestyle factors, so it is important to be proactive.”
By utilising loaded movement, such as resistance training, we can maintain and build muscle and connective tissue strength, which aso helps us maintain a healthy weight. Targeted mobility drills keep our body balanced and in alignment so we can optimise joint health and function. We can ‘feed’ our joints with regular ‘non-exercise’ movements such as walking up to 10,000 steps each day to prepare them for challenges and opportunities to come.
These strategies are both intelligent and intuitive. When supported with a nutrient-dense diet they put us in good stead to stand up to the mother of all stressors – time. It is empowering to know that the joint health we can expect tomorrow is an honest reflection of our efforts today. So rather than wrapping your joints in tape to protect them, do so for exercise and look forward to your next move.
Instructor Running Fitness Boot Camp/thinkstock; Man skier running downhill/thinkstock.
