Many people who systematically train sometimes or constantly complain of various kinds of pain both in the joints themselves and in the tendons that surround them. The most common pain points are knees, elbows, shoulders and back.

Of course, if you train long enough and seriously enough, then you won’t be able to avoid such pains 100%. But there are a number of fairly simple measures that will reduce the incidence of such pain at times.
Causes of joint injury

As for the joints, most of the pain occurs due to mechanical abrasion of the cartilage layer. And, as a result, the joint becomes inflamed and begins to hurt under load. The erasure (wear and tear) of the cartilage layer and the joint in general is a rather long process. And it largely depends on how well it is lubricated inside with synovial fluid. Everyone knows that the more lubrication, the less friction. And the less wear on the parts that rub against each other. This rule applies not only in mechanisms, but also in the human body. Since our body, from the point of view of biomechanics, is a set of interconnected levers.

How to eliminate this reason? Obviously, you need to make the joints “accumulate” more lubrication. This can be done in two ways.

Ways to protect the joints

1. The use of drugs, one of the effects of which is water retention in the body. These are most anabolic steroids and some adrenal hormones (eg dexomethasone). As you can see, these are all hormonal drugs. And I would categorically not advise amateurs to use them. Since in addition to water retention in the body, you can get many more negative side effects.

2. The use of a nutritional supplement such as creatine. It also causes water retention in the body. Approximately 1 – 1.5 liters. The effect of better lubrication of the joints is also there, but much weaker than from taking hormonal drugs.

3. Thorough warm-up before training. In the process of warming up, in response to physical work and mechanical movement in the joints, blood supply to adjacent tissues improves and more lubrication is released in the joint itself. That is, in this way you prepare your joints for work. And they wear out less during training.

4. The use of knee pads, elbow pads and other fixators for certain parts of the body. All such fasteners made of dense warming fabric (for example, neoprene). Therefore, they warm the joint well during training. Which again contributes to better blood supply and lubrication of the joint.

In general, I consider the third option to be the main and basic one for protecting the joints. Since you will not be able to take creatine for 12 months a year, and even more so, you will not be able to constantly sit on anabolics. Yes, fans do not need it. Therefore, be sure to warm up your body and joints well. A good warm-up time takes about 10 minutes. Causes of ligament injury:

A ligament and a tendon are basically the same thing. It’s just a ligament that holds two bones together. A tendon attaches a muscle to a bone.

In the vast majority of cases, tendon injury should be understood as its stretching. In rare cases, an anguish. In very rare cases, the tendon is torn from the bone. Or a broken link.

When the ligament is stretched, a lingering pain appears near the joint when performing an exercise with a large range of motion. Usually a person can perform the exercise through pain. But this will only make the pain worse. Since with this option, neither the tendon nor the ligament can heal.

A ligament sprain occurs when the tensile force on the ligament exceeds the strength of the ligament itself and its ability to stretch. That is, the less elastic your ligaments are, the easier it is for you to stretch or even tear them. This is especially true when performing exercises with a large range of motion. Or when performing sudden movements. Ways to protect ligaments

Obviously, you need to either improve the elasticity of the tendons, or make your tendons stronger. Then it will be more difficult to stretch them. And it is better to work in both these directions. So what needs to be done for this?

1. Stretch before every workout. Stretching will improve the elasticity of your ligaments for the duration of the workout. And if you stretch constantly, then elasticity will improve over time for all time.

2. Take drugs that strengthen and strengthen your ligaments. These are preparations based on chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen and omega-3 fatty acids. They are sold both in pharmacies and in sports nutrition stores. And they are absolutely harmless.

3. Do not make sudden movements when exercising. The vast majority strength exercises such sudden movements are not needed at all. In the same sports where there are quite a lot of sharp movements (for example, weightlifting), athletes stretch before each workout for 15 to 20 minutes!
If you already have pain in a joint or tendon, then you need to:

Eliminate all exercises that cause pain for about 2 weeks.
Buy a retainer for this part of the body.
Buy “indomethacin” (tablets). And take 1 – 2 tablets 2 times a day for 2 weeks. Indomethacin will relieve inflammation and pain. But this does not mean that the tendon has completely healed!
Thoroughly stretch this part of the body before each workout.
After 2 weeks (if the pain has gone), you can slowly start doing the exercises that you have excluded.
There are sports nutrition products that protect our joints, reduce pain and wear and tear of the joints. And if you experience pain or discomfort in certain joints, then it makes sense to drink them. It’s like separate substances:

Collagen Protein Hydrolyzate (Fish) (collagen)
Collagen Protein Hydrolyzate (Beef) (Collagen)
Amino Collagen (liquid collagen)
Glucosamine (glucosamine)