Boost Joint Health

The instinct when a joint hurts is to rest it. For a fresh injury that is right. For long-term joint pain it is usually the opposite of what helps.

Why movement helps

Cartilage has no blood supply of its own. It is fed by joint fluid being pushed through it as the joint moves - so a joint that is not used is a joint that is not fed. Movement also builds the muscle around the joint, which is what takes load off it. In osteoarthritis, exercise is among the best-evidenced treatments available, and it consistently outperforms most of what is sold for the purpose.

What actually helps

Strengthening the surrounding muscle, especially the quadriceps for knees. Losing excess weight, which relieves the knee by several times the amount lost with each step. Low-impact movement - swimming, cycling, walking. Heat before activity, cold after a flare. And physiotherapy, which is under-used in India and frequently the highest-value thing available.

Rest a sprain. Move an arthritic joint. Getting these the wrong way round costs people years of function.

On glucosamine and collagen

Widely sold, extensively studied, and the results are at best modest and inconsistent. They are unlikely to hurt you. They are not a substitute for the paragraph above.

See a doctor for

A hot, swollen, intensely painful joint - that can be infection or gout and needs prompt attention. Also morning stiffness lasting more than an hour, or several joints affected symmetrically, which suggests inflammatory arthritis and benefits enormously from early treatment.