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How Joints and Muscles work

A joint is basically the meeting point between two or more bones. There are 206 bones in your body and every bone, with the exception of the hyoid bone in your neck, is joined to another bone.

Your joints act as bumpers at the end of each bone and offer protection. They also link your bones together and allow your body to move as one.

Moveable joints like knees, ankles and elbows are made up of bone, connective tissue (cartilage, tendons and ligaments), muscles and synovial tissue.

Cartilage is key to the way our joints work, as it acts as a shock absorber and stops bones grinding together. However, over time this ‘cushion’ of cartilage can become thinner which is why looking after our joints throughout life is important. As we age, our bodies are less able to create new shock absorbing material. Taking supplements can help maintain supple, flexible and healthy joints.

Our bodies are built around three different types of joint:

1) Synovial joints
Synovial, or moving joints, are made up of bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and synovial fluid.
These include:

  • Your neck – a pivot joint that allows you to turn your head from side to side
  • Your hips and shoulders - ball and socket joints, which allow you to twist

  • Your elbows and knees – hinge joints that allow your arms and legs to bend
  • Your hands - ellipsoidal joints in your fingers that let you open and close your hands, while saddle joints in your thumbs let you grip and hug.
  • Your wrists and ankles – gliding joints link the surfaces of flat bones and allow one bone to glide over another

2) Joints with slight movement

The joints in your spine have far less mobility and are connected to each other with strips of cartilage.

3) Static Joints

Certain joints in your skull are fixed and don’t move at all.