Want Healthy Joints and Cartilage? Make Sure You’re Doing These 8 Things

Stay at a healthy weight

Excess bodyweight puts extra pressure on your cartilage. In fact, being just ten pounds overweight can increase the force on your knees between 20 and 30 pounds with every step, says Dominic King, DO, medical orthopaedic physician at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Center. “By keeping your weight down, you’re keeping the appropriate amount of weight that your knees are designed to handle,” he says. Not only that, but excess weight—especially around the belly—creates inflammation that stresses the cartilage, says Jason Theodosakis, MD, board-certified physician and author of The Arthritis Cure. Try these weight-loss tricks that don’t include diet and exercise.