Health
Listen To Your Body: What Those Aches And Pains Are Telling You
The body is an amazing thing, and it can often, if you listen to it, tell you exactly what is wrong with it, and what you need to do to fix it to make yourself feel better. If your knees complain when you go up the stairs, or your hips are sore after running, or any number of other joint aches and pains, there is a reason for it. Here are some great examples of how to listen to what you’re being told.
Acidic Foods
Some joint pains can be caused by eating too much acidic food. An acidic diet can make your joints more prone to inflammation, and that’s painful. Fresh fruits and vegetables are much less acidic than things like coffee, soft drinks, alcohol, and meat. As you can see, having a healthy diet will not only keep you fit, but will potentially help your joints stay supple too.
Exercise
We all know that exercise is good for us, but fewer of us know that too much exercise is bad for us. If the exercising that you’re doing is causing you pain, don’t try to push through it – that pain is there to tell you to stop. The best thing you can do at this point is to rest up, and see if you start to feel better. If you don’t, then it’s time to get some expert advice from an orthopedic doctor who can diagnose whether there is anything more serious wrong that needs to be considered further. This could be issues such as arthritis, osteoporosis, even some types of bone cancer. Don’t panic though – this is why a professional should be consulted to give you a complete answer rather than you worry when it could very well simply be that you overdid it when you were working out.
High Heels
Wearing high heels every day is not a good idea – and your body will definitely tell you about it. High heels increase the pressure on the balls of your feet, which in turn puts pressure on your knees and misaligns your spine and hips. This leads to foot, back, hip, and calf muscle pain. Switch your heels for flats regularly to allow your body to readjust itself. Save your highest heels for truly special occasions.
Your Weight
Being overweight is an unhealthy thing, but it can have a detrimental effect on your joints as well as causing diseases such as diabetes and heart complaints. Your weight bearing joints such as the ankles, knees, and hips, are absorbing all the weight that you’re carrying around, and the heavier you are, the harder they must work. This can lead to cartilage erosion, which is very painful and can cause serious mobility issues. The theory is that for every pound of weight you lose, your joints are relieved of up to eight pounds of pressure. So even the smallest weight loss can have a positive effect on your body in ways you may not even have considered.
