Are you dealing with joint pain? You might be getting abundance of advises regarding what not to do these days. But hardly will you read about some exercising dos which will help you ease your pain. Here are some of them you must know.

Joint pain is not restricted to any age or gender. It can happen to anyone and at any point of time. Although there is no dearth of medicines, ointments, and much more, assuring you magical work on the pain, yet there is no quick escape from it.

However, the good thing is that you can simplify your problem without investing much. How? ‘Exercises’- is the answer. If you choose or hope to relieve symptoms of chronic joint conditions though exercises, you must know few things beforehand. Explore them here;

Stretching is Must: When it is about maintaining flexibility, loosening or lengthening tight muscles, stretching helps relieve pain. Here is a list of stretching exercises you can try:

• Hamstrings: Just lie on your back. Placing a towel under the arch of one foot, you need to use the towel to raise the leg, straight up in the air. Continue with the same until you feel a hamstring stretch. This needs to be repeated with the other leg.
• Calf: For this, stand on a stair, making your one heel hang down. You have to do it in a way that you feel a calf stretch. Now, switch the feet and continue.
• Glutes: This adds a stretch in your glutes. Simply, lying down on your back gently pull both knees up toward your chest until you feel a stretch.
• Quads: It is one of the most popular stretches. Stand straight and then grasp the ankle of one leg, pulling to the buttocks. Here you need to practice this if your knee can tolerate this. In case, it cannot, try to grasp something in front of you for balance. Meanwhile bring your foot back and place it on a chair behind you.

Add Cardio to Your Workout: You can always switch to aquatic exercise as these serve to be a good alternative in joint pain. Especially, when higher-impact cardio like running leads to too much discomfort, such alternatives can be helpful.

Strengthen Yourself:  Do you have strong muscles? These carry weight and relieve stress on your knee. Hence, you must add strength training to your regime. You can start with squats and straight leg extensions in the beginning.

• Squats: Stand with your back against a wall. Now slide down, while keeping your knees over the ankles. Remember, you cannot let the knees go forward of the toes. Here hold for 10 to 60 seconds, and then repeat.
• Straight leg extension: For this, you have to lie down on back. With one leg out straight, bend another leg and lift straight leg a few inches off the floor. Hold up to strengthen.

Try a Foam Roller: To relieve the tension in the IT band, i.e. the thick band which runs from knee to hip, acupuncture and massage therapy can be helpful. 

Be Active: To understand this, it is first important to understand that when it comes to fitness, everyone has different interests and strengths. Without a doubt, some particular stretches, training programs and cardio activities turn out to be more helpful. But you need to choose only those which cause you less pain.

Mix it well: You must incorporate new activities to distribute stress over all your joints and muscles.
So, this in all helps you creating a fitness plan which holds your interest. Also, it is challenging, and specifically focuses on joint flexibility and strength, which is really helpful in healing your pain!

If you are a diabetic that doesn’t mean you need to keep yourself away from all sorts of yummy foods. It is just that you need to make some healthier food choices. Why not try some great smoothies which simply include a lot of fruits and vegetables? It is heavy in nutrition and light in calories, making it perfect for diabetics.

Are you living with diabetes? So, you keep sugar away, but what about your food carvings? What if you get to know that you can enjoy some tasty and healthy smoothies, that too without hindering your sugar levels? Sounds amazing, isn’t it!
Well, controlling diabetes is all about managing your blood sugar levels. It is a chronic illness and the only way out to live well with it is to manage what you do and what you eat. Undoubtedly, there are several lifestyle factors which will affect the well-being of a diabetic and his blood sugar levels. But what you eat in your daily routine will impact significantly.

Generally, you will find people restricting themselves from a number of foods, which they really love. Luckily, there are some smoothie recipes which give your taste buds amazing taste and doesn’t affect your sugar levels. Explore them here:

Chia Seed Coconut and Spinach Smoothie

Do you know this rich and creamy smoothie carries just 5 grams of carbohydrates? Hence, if you wish to keep the amount of carbs down, you can use unsweetened light coconut milk. If you look for greater taste, you have an option to add a few dashes of powdered Stevia. Learn the recipe in detail. 

Berry Blast Smoothie

You mouth started watering when it is about berries, isn’t? Forming the base of this smoothie, berries are used to make it sweet, meanwhile keeping low on the glycemic index. In case, your berries are tart, you can switch to fresh coconut milk and mango to add some natural sweetness. Additionally, you can get a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids by using flax in this recipe.

Superfood Smoothie:

Looking for a smoothie, which has every necessary element and doesn’t boost diabetes? Then pick some antioxidant-rich berries and healthy fat containing avocado, greens. For this recipe you need to be little careful. While buying berry yogurt make sure you choose a brand which is low in sugar, or sugar-free.

Peach Smoothie:

In the tired afternoon, you can get a refreshing experience having this peach smoothie. For this you will need only five ingredients. As it comes loaded with calcium, it is light enough that it won’t weigh you down. This recipe needs 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and peach. To have more of fiber, keep the peel on the peach.

Diabetic Oatmeal Smoothie:

You can give you day a great start with this nutritious and fiber-dense whole grains smoothie. It brings forth a pack of potassium and vitamin C. While you can check the entire recipe here, just make sure you choose smaller bananas and use unsweetened almond or soymilk.

Remember, fruits and vegetables serve you best for managing your diabetes than anything else. Hence, give a try to these smoothies and enjoy!