Part 1 -- Osteoarthritis Prevention Strategies

Adequate calcium intake is also very important. A few cautions: Milk and other dairy products are excellent sources of calcium but whole milk contains unhealthy fats. Milk is 3.5% fat, so even "2% milk" and "1% milk" still have significant milk fats. The healthiest dairy products for your heart are fat-free (such as skim milk or products made from it).

Also, when considering supplements, remember that the weight of calcium in milligrams should be for ‘elemental' calcium. In calcium carbonate, for example, if it says 600 milligrams, less than half will be calcium if it refers to the weight of the whole calcium carbonate molecule.

Lastly, some calcium supplements have been found to contain lead, which of course should not be there, primarily in supplements made from bone or shells and not refined properly. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to tell the elemental calcium amount and which are the contaminated ones, so be careful what and where you buy them.

Exercise Regularly For Joint Support
The second most important strategy is to keep active every day and build strong muscles, especially around the shoulders, hips, knees and back. Muscles support joints and also promote good general health. Ligaments and tendons are tough, strong tissues that connect muscles and joints and help stabilize the joint. They are not elastic! That is why they are common sites of injuries; a sprain is a torn ligament. You want strong muscles to protect the joint and avoid excessive shear on the tendons and ligaments. You don't need to be a professional body builder, just have a reasonably good muscle structure.

Aerobic activity (that's where you are using numerous muscles for a sustained time, enough to increase your heart rate a reasonable amount, like walking, swimming, riding a bicycle) nourishes your bone and muscle and induces a good balance of nutrients and hormones.

In the next post I will complete the list of prevention strategies.

Please feel free to post comments, suggest topics and ask questions, but I cannot respond to them directly. At times I will address a reader's question or comment within a posting. As with all such sites as this, it is not intended to give individual advice, to advise on your treatment or to substitute for your own doctors. It is intended to give you some insight and background that I hope will help you understand the disease better.