Training your...joints?

[AquaMarie]

Hello Bees!

While browsing the internet recently, I saw a short clip of an exercise video saying that, when weight training, you should not only track how much weight you can lift but also how much you can do without pain; and if you were experiencing pain you should train your joints as well as your muscles.

Now, I know my understanding of anatomy isn't perfect, but I thought joints were simply where bone met bone (with a bit of cartilage for padding between). How exactly would you 'train' joints?

Forgive me if this has been discussed before; I've never heard of it and couldn't find anything with a search.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Do you have a link to the video? It's hard to know what they were talking about without seeing the comment in context.

Joints are points where the ends of two or more bones come together, yes. They're not all that simple though. There's cartilage there, but also bursa (fluid-filled sacs) to provide cushioning, as well as tendons connecting muscle to bone, and ligaments connecting bone to bone. Any of these structures can become inflamed or otherwise injured, leading to pain.

Is it possible the video was talking about flexibility? We often describe that in relation to our joints.

 

[Damer]

@AquaMarie there is a lot of information that's not truly supported by science when it comes to exercise and weight lifting in particular. While well-intentioned it frequently leads to the kind of confusion you experience. A joint, as you say is a part of the body where two or more sets of bones meet and they are usually held in place by tendons and ligaments and cushioned by cartilage. What makes a joint stable however (i.e. strong) is the strength of all the primary and satellite muscle groups that are involved in its movement. To give you an example, take the knee joint. This is where the femur (thigh bone) meets the tibia (shin bone). It is held in place by the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and cushioned by the meniscus that's just behind the kneecap. On the sides it is held in place by the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL respectively). What makes a knee 'strong' however (i.e. stable) is the strength of the quads that pull on it, the strength of the calves, the strength of the hamstrings, and then also the strength of the shin: Tibialis anterior (Tibialis anticus) and the strength of the ankle joint. In most cases, as the body's strength progresses more or less in tune we barely notice any of this but sometimes when imbalances occur we need to pay attention to the signals the body sends (that's the pain bit) identify what causes it and work to fix it.

I have simplified much of this for brevity and it still sounds daunting. As @Laura Rainbow Dragon said, work to identify what the issue is: when does it occur? What are you doing? How does it feel exactly? And then work to fix it by taking remedial (usually muscle group strengthening) action. I hope this helps.