It seems logical that the more you use something, the more likely it is to get 'worn out' quickly. Following this logic, exercise cannot be good for your joints. As it turns out this is not quite right, although the answer is a little bit more nuanced than simply saying 'exercise does not cause joint problems'.
We have written before about how obesity is a risk factor for knee conditions, and in this article we cover an associated topic – how obesity affects joint replacement surgery.
If you've ever bashed your elbow – your 'funny bone' – you'll be familiar with the zinging sensation you feel afterwards.
Hip replacement surgery is often recommended where severe damage to the hip joint is causing pain and limiting movement.
'Shoulder instability' is the medical term that describes the condition where the joint lining (capsule), ligaments or labrum around the shoulder are stretched or torn and thereby fail to maintain the humeral head (ball) within the socket.
Joint flexibility varies greatly between people, and anyone who does yoga or martial arts will know there are some people who are just naturally more flexible than others. Flexibility is generally a good thing, however those people who have joint hypermobility syndrome – an extreme form of flexibility – are often more prone to a range of conditions affecting the joints and the muscles than people with a more normal range of motion in their joints.
The word 'patella' is the medical term for the kneecap – patella in Latin literally means 'little pan'.
As we've written about before, joint replacement and particularly knee replacement procedures are on the rise in Australia and around the world.
A lot of people in Australia undergo joint replacements, the most common ones being hip and knee joint replacements.
A cursory glance at the injuries preventing NRL players from competing in the 2019 season shows that shoulder injuries in the highest levels of this sport are pretty common, with 23 of all the 72 players with injuries having shoulder injuries - that's around 1 in 3.
