Throughout the pandemic, with the increase of work-from-home situations and sitting for long periods of time with less movement and exercise, we’ve had many people reach out to us to complain of shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand pain. That’s why our team of therapists, Phaeleau Cunneen, PT, CHT, OCS, Jamie Cotone, MS, OTR/L, and Kyle Stupi, PT, DPT, CSCS, hosted an online webinar, focused on ways to help you prevent and address joint pain and the symptoms you may be experiencing.

Here are three top tips to keep your joints healthy:

1. Listen to your body and respect your pain. Pain is the body’s way of telling us that some damage may be occurring. Signs of pain include weakness, fatigue, swelling, stiffness and aching.

2. Avoid tight, excessive, prolonged grip or pinch. You want to avoid using more force than is actually needed.mChoose tools that decrease the need for a tight grip/pinch and ones that fit your hand. One of the main joint protection principles I want you to remember is to use larger joints/muscle groups whenever possible.

3. Take breaks throughout the activity and give time for rest. Organize activities to reduce work efforts and prioritize activities based on the amount of energy or pain you have.

For more tips and advice, check out the full Joint Protection webinar below: