Joints become painful for many reasons and joint pain is often due to a combination of causes. The older you get, the greater the risk of joint pain. As you grow older, you will find that your joints and muscles become weaker. Older people do not use their joints and muscles as actively as the young. Muscle strength is an important factor in avoiding joint pain. The muscles support the joints and lack of exercise can be a contributory cause of joint pain.
Many people are mistaken in the belief that joint pain is always associated with heavy physical work. However, if you persistently exert heavy strain on the same joint for years, this constitutes a serious risk for joint function.
If you repeat the same movement over and over within a short time, e.g. weed the garden, paint ceilings or similar, you will soon feel the effects of strain. The same applies if you perform the same activities repeatedly at work, e.g. use a computer mouse.
Men and women develop joint pain but there are differences as to which joints are affected. Men most often get hip pain while women tend more often to have pain in their knees and finger joints.
The more you weigh, the more strain on your joints. If you are carrying extra kilos, you may find it beneficial to lose a bit of weight to reduce the risk of pain in the weight-bearing joints. Overweight people often have knee pain.
Seek medical attention if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Your knee “creaks” when you bend it
- You find it difficult to bend and stretch your fingers
- You find it difficult to hold things in your hand
- Your joints become stiff when you have been sitting or lying in the same position for some time
- A high temperature but none of the symptoms of influenza
- Unexplained weight loss of 5 kg (10 lbs) or more
- Pain lasting for more than three days.
You should also seek medical attention if you have unexplained pain in your joints, especially if these symptoms appear along with other unexplained symptoms. Your doctor will sometimes prescribe physiotherapy to help to relieve joint pain. A clinical procedure called arthrocentesis or joint aspiration may be necessary to collect fluid from the affected joint.
The causes of joint pain
Joint pain has many different causes:
- Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease)
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- SLE (lupus)
- Inflammation of the bursa
- Runner’s knee (chondromalacia patellae)
- Bone infection (ostemyelitis)
- Joint infection (septic arthritis)
- Inflammation of the tendon (tendinitis)
- Unusual or persistent strain
Certain infectious diseases can cause joint pain:
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis)
- Influenza
- Lyme disease (borrelia)
- Parvovirus
- Rheumatic fever
- Measles
- German Measles (rubella)
- Chicken Pox (varicella)
If joint pain is not associated with arthritis, rheumatism or gout, rest and exercise are important. Bathe the affected joints frequently in hot water, and massage and exercise to stretch the joints and muscles as often as possible. Anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs) may often relieve pain, swelling and joint pain generally. Do not hesitate to seek medical advice.
What can you do to relieve muscle and joint pain?
Keep moving! The more you move, the more supple your muscles and joints. Several female customers report that regular physical activity and keeping their weight down helps to keep pain at bay. Your doctor or physiotherapist can give you exercises to help. If you find that some movements expose your joints to uneven strain, you can use a joint support or brace to protect the affected joint. Braces keep the joint warm and give it support. Choose a gentle type of exercise, i.e. one that is good for your weight-bearing joints, e.g. cycling and swimming. Exercise that involves the bones may improve calcium absorption. Talk to a trainer, physiotherapist or your doctor about the best types of exercise for you. If you already exercise, focus on strengthening the muscles around the joints. The muscles stabilise the joints and minimise the strain on them. Avoid training the muscles by means of rapidly repeated movements. When you are seated, do not forget to change position often. Stand up and walk around. For example, stop using the TV remote!
- Stretching exercises and relaxation: If you find you have stiff and painful joints when you awake, an early morning routine of exercises is to be recommended.
- Sleep: Too little sleep or poor sleeping habits affect your pain threshold. If you are tired, pain and discomfort increases.
- Check your vitamin intake. Vitamin D is especially important for muscle and joint health.
- Painkillers – painkillers are beneficial for some. Some people take painkillers before exercise and before sex. Painkillers can give you several hours’ relief from pain and therefore freedom to enjoy life. If you find that painkillers have no effect, try analgesic ointment.
- Breathing: People in pain often find that their breathing is rapid and shallow. There are deep breathing exercises on the internet that may help.
If you focus on aligning your feet in their natural position, you correct the pressure on the joints, in particular the ankle, knee and hip, and spinal column. When your feet and ankles are aligned in their natural balanced positions, your knees, hips and shoulders are automatically aligned too.
Good alignment often brings about very good pain relief. Good alignment also eliminates unnecessary strain on the muscles, joints, bones and ligaments because in an aligned body, body weight is optimally balanced. You can also avoid conventional compression pads, wedges and arch supports as good alignment also ensures healthy mobility in the muscles under your foot. Your feet get to work more naturally, using all the foot muscles, which may also ameliorate a sunken forefoot. Many types of modern footwear have a flat sole and heel, which means that we do not move our feet optimally or correctly. We cram our feet into shoes, and in time, this causes problems. For example, the leg muscles that stabilise the body as we walk become weaker. Our joints may also be exposed to inappropriate strain that provokes the onset of degenerative joint disease. There are many good reasons to wear shock-absorbent footwear or insoles with a soft, shock-absorbing base. If you are going on a longer walk, make sure you walk on soft ground, e.g. on a woodland path rather than on asphalt.
What can Align Footwear® do for you?
Try Align Footwear® insoles for up to 60 days for free. You see, they stimulate your body to use its muscles optimally and relieve unnecessary pressure and strain on the joints in your legs and all the way up your spine to the neck.
The Align Footwear® insole is unique. There is no product like it on the market. The important thing is not to cram an artificial arch under the foot – it is important rather to adjust ankle position and optimise physical conditions to allow the foot muscles to move as nature intended. We have customers who are accustomed to standing or walking for more than 10 hours each day. They tell us that, when they have worn Align Footwear® insoles for a while, they feel great again.
We recommend that you give Align Footwear® insoles a chance. Try our Align Footwear® insoles on your feet. You can try the insoles for up to 60 days. If you don’t feel that they make a difference, just return the insoles to us and we will refund EUR 69 in full.
60-day Refund Policy
Full satisfaction or your money back
Any Questions?
Please contact us – call +45 22 633 633
or email to contact@alignfootwear.eu