by Colton Broadhead, PT, DPT, CSCS

A twist of the wrist, a turn of the neck, or a rotation of the ankle. Any of these might cause the release of pressure and the strange sensation of a pop in one of our joints. And, while on its own popping joints are not usually a cause for concern, it does turn our minds to all of the joints we have and use on a daily basis.

A Healthy Joint

A healthy joint can be characterized with three main points – flexibility, stability, and strength. To further define these, flexibility is the ability of joints, muscles, and soft tissues to move through a full range of motion. Stability is the ability of the muscles to maintain control of joint movement and positioning. Strength is the muscles’ capacity to produce force for moving or stabilizing a joint under load. The combination and balance of these three elements can ensure that our joints stay as healthy as they can be.

Pressure Point

The main obstacle an industrial athlete faces with their own joint health is repetitive and overuse movements. Since this can be at the core of many industrial athlete’s jobs, we have an uphill challenge in finding the best way to keep our joints as healthy as possible.

Consider an Olympic athlete. This summer in Paris, they have an apparent risk for injury in their chosen sport, but they also have a (well-dressed) team of medical professionals behind them to keep them safe and as healthy as possible. An industrial athlete should have that same attention in their profession to stay as healthy as can be. Good thing we’ve got the help of injury prevention specialists to provide exactly that! Now, about those joint risks…

Smooth Moves

Motion is Lotion

Maybe you’ve heard your onsite clinician mention this phrase? Joints are not only for moving, but they actually like to move, too! The more we move, the better our joints move. But, since we are doing repetitive movements we must also move the joints in all other directions to stay healthy. Practice good microstretch strategies during break time to stand up and move in all directions – especially those directions that don’t get movement during a job task.

Stretch & Flex Program

The next thing that we can do is a stretch and flex program. It’s Work Right’s bread and butter. This program of stretching the muscles and then immediately flexing the same muscle increases flexibility. It also helps to activate muscle groups so they are ready to go when we ask them to do what we need them to do.

Eating Healthy

Now this is one of the most important because if our body doesn’t have the proper nutrients to feed to the joints and muscles, then no matter what we do, the joints cannot be healthy. A quick list of some foods that can be beneficial, Fish, fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts. An anti-inflammatory diet may not only be good news for our joints, but comes with the added benefit to heart and blood vessel function and help with chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Keep those joints healthy by staying active, eating healthy, and participating in those pre-shift warm-ups! Joints and muscles are like a rubber band, if we stretch and use it when it’s cold or frozen, it’s prone to break. But when it is nice and warmed up, we can use it with no problems and no injury to the rubber band. So let’s knuckle down and strengthen those joints!

Colton Broadhead, PT, DPT, CSCS || Colton has been a physical therapist for 4 years and in the Army for 17 years. Soon after completing his degree, he received his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification. A husband and dad to his wife and three little boys, he enjoys playing board games and runs a YouTube channel about Board Games as well!. .

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Be sure to check out our other blogs for further injury prevention education and tips for the industrial athlete from Work Right NW!