How can I prevent stiffness and pain in my joints as I get older?

Joint pain and stiffness can be prevented. Watch the video to see what you can do now to preserve flexibility as you get older.

Prevention is the key to all injuries, chronic and acute. To prevent joint stiffness as you age, you should spend more time working on your flexibility (foam roll or static stretching) as well as maintaining strength in your large muscle groups. Eating healthier and maintaining a healthy weight will also decrease the load and work demand placed on joints. If your are active and play recreational sports, add more dynamic stretching prior to your workouts and follow up the activity with static stretching and/or foam roll exercises. Using heat prior to activity to warm up muscles and ice after activity to cool down muscle and joint inflammation will also help reduce joint stiffness and pain.

The number one way to prevent pain and stiffness in joints as you age is to stay active. If you don't move it, it won't move.

If you are starting to get stiff joints, there are some over-the-counter nutritional supplements you can try, such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. It may help with pain and improve motion. But, it hasn’t been scientifically proven to work.