When you are trying to get in shape in order to keep your New Year's resolution or to improve your life, you need to make sure that you don't accidentally derail yourself by getting injured. One very common injury that many people who just start a workout plan suffer from are joint injuries. Joint injuries take a long time to heal and can be very frustrating because they make motion painful. Here are some tips for protecting your joints while you are exercising.

1. Start Slow

Your joints need to strengthen just like every part of your body. This means that if you try to do too much too soon, such as trying to run for two hours straight when you haven't run more than a mile since high school, you are going to increase the chances that you injure your joints. When you start exercising for the first time in awhile, you need to be sure that you only do what your body can handle. If your knees or any other joints start to hurt while you are exercising, stop and take a break. If your joints are still hurting after five or ten minutes of rest, you are done for the day. You will be able to slowly increase the intensity of your workout in the coming weeks.

2. Switch Out Which Joints You Are Using

If you run every day, you are going to wear out the joints in your knees more quickly than if you vary your workout routine. Try running every other day and on the days that you do not run, do something else for cardio. Try swimming, using an elliptical, or even just race-walking. These will vary the stress that is put on your joints and will cause you to work out other parts of your body, allowing you to not put too much stress on any one set of joints.

3. Get the Right Shoes

If you run a lot, you are going to need shoes that support forwards motion. If you play basketball, you are going to need shoes with more ankle support in order to make sure that you don't hurt those joints while you are switching positions from side to side quickly. Having the right shoes will help you protect your joints from having too much stress put on them and will make your overall exercise experience more enjoyable.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in sports medicine like Tedder Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center.