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Often athletes forget about strengthening joints and ligaments. Most begin to strengthen and treat joints after getting injured. Also, many beginners do not ask this question at all, and it’s vain! Injuries to the joints and ligaments require a fairly long rehabilitation, and subsequently they can go into chronic diseases, which is unacceptable for any person who is actively engaged in physical activity. In this article, you will learn how to strengthen joints and ligaments, and also learn at home to do preventive maintenance and treatment of joints.
First, let’s see what the joints and ligaments are like:
Bunches are weakly elastic in structure and therefore they are often subjected to stretching. They perform a connective function and connect the bones together.
Joints provide movement of body parts and consist of cartilaginous tissue with synovial fluid that fills the cavity of the cartilage bag.
How to strengthen joints and ligaments
In order to avoid injuries in training, joints (especially shoulder) need to be strengthened. Shoulder joints are inherently very vulnerable due to their fragile structure. Joints do not like when they are overexerted or incorrectly loaded, put in an extreme position, etc. Often joints fail because of prolonged overload. For example, most marathon runners have problems with joints after 10 years of training. And to restore them later is very difficult. Therefore, it is highly desirable to strengthen the joints and ligaments in a complex manner. This means that you must adhere to the right diet, take special supplements, and perform a number of physical exercises and most importantly, always do the warm-up.
The diet should include vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. In general, the essence of the diet is to bounce back your weight. If you are overweight, you just need to lose weight. Otherwise, you should understand that a large weight contributes to the load on the ligament apparatus, as well as on the bones and joints. If you do not watch for food (it’s not rational for you), it can lead to weakening of your ligaments and tendons. Your food should first of all be directed to natural products. In the diet must be vitamins: E, B6 and C, and as for minerals, the diet should be present: magnesium, zinc, selenium and niacin. You also need to get rid of carbonated drinks with dyes from the store, since they wash away the beneficial substances from the body. And all sorts of chips have a detrimental effect on the digestive tract, and can also block the digestion of trace elements. If you can not ensure the intake of all the necessary vitamins and minerals from food, then buy in the pharmacy special vitamin complexes.
Do not wait for the very rapid effect of taking supplements, they only help to heal and strengthen your ligaments and joints. And on how quickly your joints will be restored and strengthened, depends on many factors, including the “abilities” of your body.
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Physical exercises to strengthen
To strengthen the joints and ligaments, static exercises are necessary – this is when the muscles are in a constant long-term stress, while their movement is practically absent. There is also static dynamics – this is when the muscles are tense, but have a small amplitude of motion. The decisive factor here is technique, not weight.
Statics
Static exercises can be performed both without additional vertex (stance, vises), and with it (weight retention). For example, to strengthen the hands, you can use an expander, a long hanging on the bar (for grasping) or a handstand for the shoulder girdle. As mentioned above, you can use extra weight, it can be holding dumbbells in front of you or holding the bar on your fingers.
Static dynamics
The essence of static dynamics is that you need to use a light weight and a relatively short amplitude of motion. For this you can use a dumbbell 2-4 lb or an expander and make short movements.
For prevention and treatment of joints at home, static dynamics are excellent. Perform such exercises can be as a day, or several times a week. It is also very important to perform warm-up before training.
For the shoulder girdle, you can do exercises with a dumbbell or a regular water bottle. To do this, take the projectile in front of you on an elongated hand (the weight should be small 2-4 lb) and raise it at a level of 90-100 degrees (10-15 degrees angle of movement). This exercise is performed until a feeling of slight burning in the muscles and fatigue. Never use heavy weight.
For the elbow joint, exercises with an expander are effective. For this purpose, normal arm leads are suitable. Fix and stretch the expander, press your hand to yourself and bend it (angle of 90 degrees) and start to move your hand to the side, the amplitude of the lead should be small. Also perform this exercise until burning and failure.
For the knee joint and ligaments, the best exercises for strengthening are half-squats, as well as sit-ups (at a slow pace) on two legs (with variable support for one leg), it is also important not to tear your feet apart so that your muscles work in static dynamics. In this exercise, slow fibers work, and slow movement also strengthens the ligaments.
Do preventive maintenance on an ongoing basis, watch for food, take a number of complex measures and remember the stresses, and then your ligaments and joints will always be intact.