We’ve all been there—you’re determined to be consistent and intentional with exercising. You start out strong, maybe hitting the treadmill or elliptical everyday. But then, you wake up one morning with intense and pulsing joint pain. Injuries are not only painful, but they can throw off all your plans and minimize your productivity. One way you can heal injuries, and prevent them to begin with, is through stretching. Many people make the mistake of not making stretching a part of their fitness routine and underestimate its value. We asked Ronnie Lubischer, CSCS, owner of Lubischer’s Burn and Blast Training, what the best stretches are for relieving joint pain.
The first step in preventing joint pain and injury of any kind is knowing what causes it in the first place. Beyond medical arthritic conditions, two of the main causes are skeletal weakness and self inflicted inflammation typically caused by poor nutrition. Additionally, joint pain can be caused by not warming up properly. “To give you an example, if you live in a cold location in the winter and your gym offers a steam room or sauna, I always suggest my clients use that to their advantage and steam up 5-10 minutes prior to even working out,” Lubischer says, “This will help facilitate blood flow and loosen up the joint. Remember joints and tendons have much less blood flow capacity when compared to muscles so that heat will help blood flow through those joints and loosen you up.” For a cheaper at-home alternative, you can also get this effect by taking a hot bath with bath salts. You can also do this at home with a hot bath and bath salts. There are also a few stretches and exercises you can do to prevent and reduce joint pain.
YWT’s. This is a ROM (range of motion) exercise that targets the shoulders, which are a common area of contention when it comes to joint pain. To do this, lie on the floor belly down while keeping your toes firmly planted on the ground. Next, pull your chest away from the floor trying to create space between the floor and your chest. Then, hold your arms out in front of you making a Y shape and hold that for 20-30 seconds. Rest for 60 seconds and then perform the same thing but with your body as a W and then a T. Do this for 3-5 rounds and then see how your shoulders feel.
Lunges. Besides your shoulders, another main problem area for joint pain is your knees. “For your knees I have a saying to my clients, lunges make for healthy knees,” Lubischer says, “Before a leg workout try performing reverse lunges, followed by curtsy lunges, followed by lateral lunges, and finally front lunges. Do each exercise separately for 3 sets of 10, then squat and see how your normal knee pain is now significantly reduced.”
Build strength in your anchoring muscles. While this isn’t necessarily a stretch, one important way to improve your joint health is through supporting the muscles surrounding your joints. “For instance, if you have chronic aches in your knees, you will want to strengthen the anchoring muscles which are the quads and hamstrings, and even more specifically the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis (inside and outside quad muscles). Doing this will reinforce the joint that these muscles surround. Doing exercises that target your legs is one way to do this.
Joint pain can be frustrating and ruin your plans. But, moving with intention is one way you can reduce it, or even prevent it in the first place. Doing the stretches and exercises mentioned above can be helpful aspects of your fitness routine, as well as being mindful of your environment and how it can play a role in how you feel.
