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05 Dec 2025The hour-long hike up Buzzard’s Roost Rail at Millerton Lake is a favorite pastime. What used to be easy in your 20s and 30s started to make your joints ache as you moved into your 40s and 50s. Now, you’re in your 60s, and it’s become almost impossible to complete the trail in an hour. Why is that?
Joint health changes as you get older. This is unavoidable, but you can work on preventing debilitating pain that decreases your mobility. Instead of struggling to complete a trail or enjoy your favorite activities, learn how to protect your joints and minimize pain.
Understanding Your Aging Joints
While the CDC estimates that 54 million adults have arthritis, a Boston University School of Medicine study estimates there are actually closer to 91 million. People in the armed forces (active duty) and older adults in nursing homes have the highest rates of arthritis.
While there are more than 100 types of arthritis, osteoarthritis is the most common. Other common types are:
Fibromyalgia – A condition where the central nervous system incorrectly sends messages, triggering pain.
Gout – A condition where uric acid creates crystals in the joints, specifically the joints of the big toe.
Lupus – An autoimmune disease that triggers inflammation in the blood, brain, joints, kidneys, skin, and other organs.
Psoriatic arthritis – Your immune system attacks the joints and skin, causing pain and rashes.
Rheumatoid arthritis – Your immune system attacks the tissue in your joints and organs.
When it comes to age and arthritis, osteoarthritis is the most common. It’s simply the wear and tear on a joint over time. Every time you jump, step, or make any motion involving a joint, the fluid within the joint lubricates the cartilage on the bones. Over time, that fluid can decrease, and cartilage can wear away.
It’s the same as the tread on your shoe. The more you walk or run, the more worn out that shoe becomes. Eventually, there’s no tread left, and that’s when problems occur. You lose some support and shock absorption. You’re more likely to slip on wet pavement, ice, or polished floors.
If bones begin rubbing against each other as cartilage wears away, it can be painful. It makes you want to slow down. Stopping movement worsens arthritis. Osteoarthritis creates a frustrating cycle.
Changes in Your 40s
Osteoarthritis pain often starts in your 40s. Tiny damage to your cartilage from years of joint stress sparks the beginning of pain. Some of this damage happens as your metabolism slows, leading to weight gain. For each extra pound of body weight, the knees experience about 4 to 6 additional pounds of stress.
Women also go through perimenopause in their 40s. Hormonal fluctuations, including a decrease in estrogen, affect collagen production and bone density. That worsens joint health.
Changes in Your 50s
In your 50s, your ligaments and tendons lose their elasticity. Loss of elasticity makes you feel stiffer, especially after a long period of being stationary, such as a whole night’s sleep. It takes time to get moving and loosen up the stiffness. This affects your flexibility and range of motion. It also increases your risk of falling.
You may also notice that joint pain and inflammation get worse on days with poor air quality. When particulate matter levels are high, this triggers an inflammatory response that can increase joint pain in some people.
Changes in Your 60s
Joint degradation peaks in your 60s. Cartilage in weight-bearing joints wears away, causing friction and pain. The risk of osteoporosis is also high, increasing the risk of a bone fracture.
There’s also a problem with your body’s positioning and movement-sensing abilities. Receptors in joints, muscles, and tendons don’t work as effectively, and the sense of positioning your joints correctly diminishes. Loss of positioning and movement sensing makes you more likely to fall, causing additional joint damage.
Tips for Maintaining Mobility and Joint Health
A healthy diet and a strong core help you stay active throughout your life. That’s a good start, but there are other things you need to do to protect your joints and maintain mobility.
Ideally, you start protecting your joints before your 40s, but it’s never too late to try. Women who are entering perimenopause should start discussing hormonal replacement therapy with their doctor. All genders need to focus on the following.
Bone Density Screenings
Tracking bone density is important starting in your 60s. Get a bone density screening to ensure your bones aren’t losing calcium. Osteoporosis is a risk that increases as you age. A family history makes it essential that you get tested even earlier.
Bone density screenings are fast and painless. A DEXA scan uses X-rays to measure bone mineral density in your hip, spine, or wrist. If your bones are thinning, calcium supplements, a diet higher in calcium and vitamin D, and exercise are often recommended.
Diet and Hydration
Now is the time to make sure you’re hydrating and eating well. As easy as it is to grab takeout, most restaurant and fast-food meals are high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. Those aren’t good for your joints or a healthy weight.
Aim for meals that contain lean protein, whole grains, healthy fats, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. In your 40s, 50s, and 60s, you should be consuming, depending on your recommended caloric intake of 1600, 2200, or 2800 calories. Ask your doctor as your caloric requirements decrease with age.
2 or 3 servings of dairy
2, 3, or 4 servings of fruit
3, 4, or 6 servings of vegetables
6, 9, or 11 servings of whole grains (bread, cereal, pasta, or rice)
5, 6, or 7 ounces of beans, eggs, fish, meat/poultry, nuts, or tofu
Pay attention to portion sizes when counting servings. A ½ cup of pasta is a serving. If you eat a cup of pasta, that’s 2 servings. A cup of spinach counts as 1 serving, but a cup of broccoli counts as 2 servings.
Drink plenty of water. Your body contains a lot of water, and exercise causes you to sweat, so you lose water. A rule of thumb is to aim for 2.7 liters as a woman and 3.7 liters as a man.
Muscle Strengthening Exercises
Strong muscles support your tendons and ligaments surrounding a joint. Keep your core muscles toned as they’re key to spine and pelvis stability. They also help you with posture and balance.
When you strengthen muscles, they need to be balanced. If the muscles on your right leg are stronger than those on your left leg, it’s more likely to cause strain as a specific muscle group works harder than the other.
Pain Management
Even the strongest, most flexible person may experience arthritis pain from time to time. Learn how to manage the pain. NSAID medications like ibuprofen are one option. These over-the-counter pain medications target pain and inflammation.
Hot and cold therapy are also helpful. Heat is best at easing stiffness. A warm shower in the morning can help loosen the joints by increasing blood flow. Cold therapy is best for pain and swelling after exercise.
Water and pressure massage at a sports and orthopedics practice also helps with pain management. If you’re seeing a doctor about your joint pain, ask about cutting-edge, FDA-approved treatments like biologic-based treatments and tissue repair therapy to promote healing and ease pain.
Stay Flexible
Muscle strength is essential, but you also want to stay flexible. This is why programs like Tai Chi and Yoga are recommended. Sign up for classes in your 40s and continue through your 50s and 60s.
Weight Management
Every pound of excess weight you carry adds extra strain to your joints, with 4 to 6 pounds of pressure on your knee. People who are considered obese are 20x more likely to need knee replacement surgeries.
Don’t wait until the pain is extreme and limits your mobility or requires surgery. Orthopedic specialists help you strengthen muscles and heal tissue damage, supporting your aging joints.
You don’t have to sit back and let joint pain happen. Schedule an appointment with Premium Sports & Orthopedics now and enjoy a full, active lifestyle in Fresno.
