Maintain an active lifestyle and a flexible body with this guide to managing midlife joint health.
While joint health may be important at any age, midlife is a particularly transformative time in a woman’s life. During perimenopause and menopause there are fluctuations in women’s hormone levels, which may impact daily activities. Simultaneously, ageing is also generally associated with a variety of changes in the body and can have a notable effect on joint health.
Whilst it’s not always a priority, healthy joint function is fundamental in helping us to move efficiently and go about our normal daily lives. In fact, it could be considered the secret to staying youthful from the inside out, so it’s important to keep joints in good working order.
The good news is that there are easy ways to maximise joint health and safeguard mobility without having to take drastic action. To help, we’ve partnered with Julie Robinson, optimal ageing expert and founder of the evidence-based and nationally recognised fitness initiative Move It Or Lose It, to provide her top tips on how to future proof your joints for years to come.
How to manage your midlife joint health:
1. Tailor your regime: ‘You should consider tailoring your exercise regime to accommodate for natural changes in joint health. Low-impact exercises are kinder on joints so try to incorporate activities such as swimming or cycling into your routine. Walking is also an excellent way to help maintain good joint function.’
2. Target your workouts: ‘Alongside low-impact activities, I’d recommend adding in gentle strength training to help build up lost strength from an age-related decrease in muscle mass. Weights can sometimes feel intimidating but start off small and go at your own pace, as they’re a great way to increase strength and mobility in the muscles that protect and support our joints.’
3. Try a supplement: ‘Whilst we know that lifestyle plays a key role in safeguarding the future of our joint health, there are additional ways to support healthy joint function long term. Adding a supplement to your daily routine, such as GOPO®, can help support joint health from the inside out.’
GOPO® Joint Health is available from Boots, Amazon, Tesco, Holland and Barrett, and independent chemists and retailers nationwide. Visit gopo.co.uk for further information.
GOPO® Joint Health is made from 100 per cent specially cultivated natural rosehip (Rosa canina) and is the only product of its kind to contain a high level of GOPO® – a key component of rosehip, which was discovered more than 30 years ago in Denmark and has been studied in more than 20 scientific trials. Longstanding research projects have focused on rosehip with a high level of GOPO®. Rosehip helps maintain healthy and flexible joints. It is also rich in vitamin C, which contributes to the formation of collagen for the normal function of cartilage (which is the protective and connective component of joints).
