image by: Balqis Tajalli

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Give your joints a bit of TLC

We have 206 bones in the adult human skeleton; the point where 2 bones connect is called a joint, we have a total of 360 joints in the body – some of these connect the tiny bones in our inner ear – others are more obvious, such as our knee or elbow joints. Our skeleton provides us with structure, but without our joints it would be a rigid, very difficult to move structure. While different joints have slightly different functions, most of them are there to provide us with movement – from fine motor movement in the hands, to turning the head, bending our knees to walk, pivoting at the hips, moving our spine and nearly every range of motion you can think of (including some in the inner ear you…

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 Caring for Hips and Knees to Avoid Artificial Joints

Although the human body has an amazing capacity to repair itself, our joints are surprisingly fragile. When the cartilage that cushions bones wears away, it does not grow back. Thinning cartilage contributes to osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis, a painful and often debilitating condition.

 Reprogramming Genes to Keep Joints Healthy

Our joints are pretty amazing marvels of engineering, but they don’t last forever. As we age, or if we suffer certain injuries, the smooth, slippery white cartilage covering the ends of our bones begins to fray and degrade. This causes osteoarthritis (OA), or ‘wear-and-tear’ arthritis.

 Six Exercises to Ease Joint Pain and Improve Stability

Isometric exercises—where you hold a position—can help your joints

 The overlooked key to fitness? Strengthening your joints and tendons

Muscle strength is only part of the equation—learn why supporting your tendons and ligaments is essential for long-term health.

Previously Featured

Anatomy of a Joint

There are many types of joints, including joints that don’t move in adults, such as the suture joints in the skull. Joints that don’t move are called fixed. Other joints may move a little, such as the vertebrae...

As we live longer, can our joints last longer, too?

Thankfully, uninjured human joints can last a lifetime of activities including running. It is only once they are injured or diseased that the surfaces become rough and the wear and tear accelerates into arthritis. If we can prevent and cure arthritis, we can extend the life of the joint. The good news, as we are now discovering, is that arthritis is often preventable and curable if the cartilage injuries that lead to the most common types of arthritis, post-traumatic and osteoarthritis, are repaired as soon as they are injured.

Bad news for creaky knees: We can’t regrow cartilage as adults, study finds

The fallout from nuclear bomb testing decades ago is now helping researchers better understand knee joints. By tracking radioactive carbon absorbed in knees, a team of Danish researchers has found that the structure of cartilage is determined by early adolescence and doesn’t change later in life.

Biomechanics: Lever Systems in the Body

Our bodies are composed of a variety of synovial joints that function as lever systems. The reason it’s easier to perform a weighted calf raise than a bicep curl is because the lever system involved in a bicep curl is mechanically less efficient than the lever system involved in a calf raise.

Can Cryotherapy’s Chill Help Muscles, Joints?

Small studies find a beneficial effect, but beware frostbite.

Cartilage 101 – What Is Cartilage and What Does It Do?

Cartilage a strong and smooth substance made up of “chondrocytes,” or specialized cartilage cells, that produce a matrix of collagen, proteoglycans (a special type of protein) and other non-collagenous proteins. These materials help cartilage attract water and give it its shape and specific properties.

Cracking joints isn’t bad for you and could even serve a useful purpose

Although it may irritate friends and family, self-manipulating our joints is probably neither useful nor harmful for the individual.

Fun Facts About Bones and Joints

Some joints move and some don't. Joints in the skull don't move. Synovial joints are movable joints. They make up most of the joints in the body and are located mostly in the limbs, where mobility is critical. They contain synovial fluid, which helps them to move freely.

How Many Joints Are in the Human Body?

Although the actual number of joints in any one person depends on a number of variables, the estimated number is between 250 and 350.

Monitoring Methods of Human Body Joints: State-of-the-Art and Research Challenges

Three types of joints are present in the human body: fibrous (immovable), cartilaginous (semi-movable) and synovial (freely movable) joints.

Scientists aim at joint injuries that can trigger arthritis

Arthritis isn’t always from the wear and tear of getting older — younger adults too often get it after suffering knee or ankle injuries. Now researchers are hunting a way to stave off the damage, by targeting the little energy factories that power cartilage cells.

Top 10 Ways to Protect Your Joints

Joints are the places in our bodies where bones meet. They roll, glide, rotate or bend like a simple hinge to let you run, jump and do the chicken dance. Joints come in different sizes, shapes and varieties, but all of them are susceptible to wear and tear, damage and arthritis.

What makes joints pop and crack and is it a sign of disease?

Joints emit a variety of noises, including popping, snapping, catching, clicking, grinding, grating and clunking. The technical term for these noises is “crepitus”, from the Latin “to rattle”. People of all ages can experience crepitus, although it becomes more common with old age. So what causes crepitus?

What makes joints pop and crack and is it a sign of disease?

Joints emit a variety of noises, including popping, snapping, catching, clicking, grinding, grating and clunking. The technical term for these noises is “crepitus”, from the Latin “to rattle”. People of all ages can experience crepitus, although it becomes more common with old age. So what causes crepitus? Air bubbles forming in the joint spaces are the most common cause of popping noises. This noise occurs at joints where there is a layer of fluid separating the two bones. Joints can be forced apart through natural everyday movements, or deliberately, such as at the hands of an osteopath. When this happens, the low pressure in the joint space causes gases within the synovial fluid (a natural lubricant in the joint) to form a gas cavity, which comprises oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

What's actually happening when you crack your knuckles?

You might wince when you crack a joint, and you might also feel a release. If it hurts when you do it, then you should avoid it and see a doctor. But otherwise, is popping your knuckles (or your back or shoulders) bad for you? Probably not.

Why Do Weather Changes Make My Pain Worse?

Some people experience pain flares from healed injuries or chronic conditions when it’s cold or raining. Are the two actually connected?

Why Our Knees Are So Easy to Injure

Knee joints enable humans to walk upright on two legs, but the way they evolved makes them fundamentally unstable.

Why stormy weather is often linked to joint pain and migraines

Many patients swear their pain worsens when the weather shifts, but studies have shown mixed results. Here’s what we know about the link—and what you might be able to do about it.

Resources

Simple Tasks

The Simple Tasks campaign aims to elevate the importance of rheumatology, increase understanding of the work of rheumatologists, and lay a foundation of awareness and understanding that creates support for more favorable public policy.

StatPearls

A joint is a point where two bones make contact. Joints can be classified either histologically or functionally. Histological classification is based on the dominant type of connective tissue, and functional classification is based on the amount of movement permitted. Histologically the three joints in the body are fibrous, cartilaginous, and synovial. Functionally the three types of joints are synarthrosis (immovable), amphiarthrosis (slightly moveable), and diarthrosis (freely moveable).