Many individuals attribute joint pain and joint stiffness to either getting older or sustaining athletic injuries; however, the cause of such problems lies in the everyday stress that our bodies experience due to wrong moves. All those things we do without thinking can put structural stress on our musculoskeletal system and cause gradual wear and tear of the joints. Once these factors are identified, they can be changed and your joint health improved. Below are listed 8 daily activities that damage your joints and ways to avoid them.
Twisting Off Tight Lids by Using Pure Grip Power
Using only pure finger strength to pry off tight lids exposes the little joints of the hands to severe twisting. This twisting action puts undue stress on the cartilage at the base of the thumb, a common place where osteoarthritis develops, and causes inflammation of the sensitive tendons located in the wrist.
Sitting in a Poorly Designed Office Chair
Leaning with your back hunched down for prolonged periods while working flattens the natural curve of your lumbar spine completely. Such an act stretches out the surrounding ligaments and shifts the load of your torso from the core muscles to your spinal disks and facet joints. Not only that, but your hip flexors will remain shortened, pulling on your pelvis.
Carrying Heavy Objects Through Hip Joint Flexion
When carrying a heavy object like groceries, clothing, or any boxes by bending forward at the waist, your body is subjected to a great mechanical weakness since the lumbar region serves as the pivot point when flexed. As a result, there would be added stress on the disc because of the lumbar vertebrae’s lever action, resulting in strain to the back.
Carrying a Heavy Handbag on One Shoulder
The whole weight placed on one shoulder due to carrying a heavy bag means that there has to be compensation by other body parts; otherwise, the handbag might drop. As a result, due to carrying the handbag, there is always an elevation of the shoulder. This means that since the shoulder is already uneven, the rest of the body will be uneven too.
Grasping a Steering Wheel Too Hard
When driving in heavy traffic conditions, one may have to unconsciously grip the steering wheel very hard in order to maintain control. The constant contraction causes strain on the tendons of the elbow joint. Lateral epicondylitis or medial epicondylitis may occur due to repetitive strain, irrespective of whether a person plays tennis or golf, commonly associated with these conditions.
Standing with Most of Your Weight on One Leg
In queues or while conversing during social events, it is very natural to stand with one foot supporting your whole body weight and the other hanging loosely. Such a standing posture throws off your pelvic alignment, leading to unequal distribution of weight in the hip joint of the supporting leg. This leads to stretching of the IT band and puts additional pressure on the hip and lumbar spine joint cartilage.
Sleep on Your Belly With a Heavy Pillow
Sleeping entirely on your belly makes you twist your head all night, since sleeping on your belly prevents the possibility of breathing normally. In this case, you lock the cervical facet joints in maximum flexion and cause compression and strain of your nerves. If you additionally add a heavy pillow in this position, you push your neck upward, and morning pain becomes guaranteed.
Vegetables Cut by Dull Knife
It becomes necessary to exert more energy when cutting vegetables by using a blunt knife, because you need to press your hand on the handle of the tool. You apply force repeatedly, which results in shock to your fingers, thumb joint, and wrist. The best way to avoid pain when cutting vegetables is to keep your blades razor sharp and let the tool do its job.
