How to Improve Joint Health, According to Experts

If you have a habit of trash-talking your “bad knees,” “weak ankles,” or “bum hip,” let’s stop that narrative. Yes, pain and injuries are frustrating, but you can easily improve your joint health and feel confident about these potentially finicky parts of your athletic body.

The truth is, people have more control over their joint health than they think. “[Joint pain] isn’t a life sentence, and there are a ton of interventional things we can do,” says Milica McDowell, D.P.T., physical therapist, certified exercise physiologist, and vice president of operations at Gait Happens.

Also, you don’t have to wait for things to get stiff and creaky to take action. Now is the time to take proactive measures to keep you moving and grooving for years to come.

Most cyclists assume their joints are healthy when there is an absence of pain (or discomfort or tightness), but lack of discomfort is not the only metric you should use to measure a joint’s health. “To me, [healthiness] means that a joint has a high level of function,” McDowell says.

A healthy joint can move through its full range of motion and offer enough stability to accomplish the task at hand safely. For example, healthy knees and ankles allow you to get in and out of a seated position because they can flex, extend, and support your weight, she explains.

Therefore, “if your joint is doing what you want it to do, then it’s probably pretty healthy,” Hallie Labrador, M.D., primary care sports medicine physician at Endeavor Health tells Bicycling. “If your joint is not keeping you from riding a bike or walking, then it’s probably doing okay.”

To a degree, joint health is unique to the individual and their personal movement repertoire. Yes, everyone should be able to squat, bend over to pick something up off the floor, and reach overhead, but the demands put upon a joint are also activity-specific.

“If I’m a yogi, I’m asking my joint to have a lot more range of motion and flexibility than if I’m a cyclist,” McDowell says. “If I’m a cyclist, I’m generally going through mid-range of motion. If I’m a yogi or a dancer, I need extreme range of motion.”

Therefore, don’t worry if you’re not as flexible as your friend with a regular yoga practice. Your goal is to support your joints in their ability to stay healthy as a cyclist.

1. Cartilage

This protective connective tissue sits at the ends of your bones, enabling your joints to move smoothly while also providing shock absorption. When cartilage degrades due to an injury, health conditions such as arthritis or chronic overuse, can set off a less-than-desirable chain reaction.

“The people who have cartilage injuries can have pain, and they start to lose mobility and have stability issues because now they’re not using the joints,” McDowell says. “It becomes a downward spiral.”

2. Lubrication

McDowell explains that every joint is protected by a joint capsule filled with synovial fluid, a viscous, egg-white-like liquid that reduces friction between bones as they move. The chemical makeup of synovial fluid changes as we age, rendering it less effective.

Synovial fluid can also be altered by inflammation and some health conditions, as well as lifestyle factors like hydration and exercise, McDowell says.

3. Muscle Strength and Mobility

If you experience joint pain when exercising, you may not have the required muscle strength or mobility to support certain movements, positions, or loads. While being active and exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do to keep joints healthy, Labrador says, you can’t just rely on bike rides to protect your hips, knees, and ankles.

Without enough strength in the muscles around the joint, when they fatigue, the joint may bear more pressure than it can handle, Labrador says. Therefore, strengthening those muscles will help your knee feel better.

Likewise, if you sit at your desk all day, even if your muscles are strong, the connective tissues around your joints may become stiff. This is when mobility and flexibility moves come to the rescue, according to the Arthritis Foundation. The movements send nutrients and blood to the joints, essentially making them healthier, and less likely to bother you when you go for a ride.

Joint health affects your ability to cycle harder and farther, so anything you can do to proactively preserve or improve your knees, hips, and ankles is worth your time and energy. Below are some tips to keep your connection points moving, hinging, and rotating efficiently.

→Connect With Your Healthcare Provider

If you had an injury long ago and still do the same exercises or, worse, avoid exercises because of that injury, it’s time to get a new assessment. People come into clinics and say, “that’s my bad leg,” McDowell says. Years later, they’re still doing all the same things to manage pain, but they haven’t solved the problem.

An up-to-date assessment can clarify the issue and help determine appropriate interventions. In some cases, you may need physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around an unstable joint. Other people may need more serious medical interventions, like surgeries, joint replacements, or pain-relieving injections.

→Address Imbalances With Strength Training

The human body is inherently asymmetrical, McDowell says. Most people have a stronger arm or one side that’s more flexible than the other. You should strive to address these imbalances when you strength train, at least to the best of your ability.

“Trying to achieve symmetrical mobility [and strength] is key to joint health, especially for repetitive movements like cycling,” McDowell says. “If I’m riding a road bike 100 miles and I’ve got limited range of motion in one of my knees, I’m going to ‘Rob Peter to pay Paul.’ I’m going to start cheating with my other joints to get that motion.” That kind of compensation can eventually lead to overuse pain and injury.

Unilateral lifting (working one side at a time) will not only reveal any deficiencies that need to be addressed, but it will also isolate the muscles that need strengthening and prevent you from “assisting” with other stronger areas of the body.

→Check Your Bike Fit

Your current bike fit—even if it was done by a qualified professional—may not be doing your joints any favors. “[Bike fit] is probably one of the biggest things that can be changed to take pressure off the muscles and tendons that connect to the joints. And it’s something that can change over time,” Labrador says. “The bike fit that you had five years ago might not be the same fit you need later on.” If you’re at all uncomfortable, get an updated bike fit.

→Try Glucosamine and Chondroitin

For every cyclist who swears by their daily glucosamine and chondroitin supplement, there’s another who found the same product ineffective. The research on these drugs, which are constituents of cartilage, is similarly mixed; some studies suggest they alleviate joint pain, and others find they have little to no effect.

Experimenting with supplements is worth a shot, Labrador says, noting that inconclusive research doesn’t mean it won’t work for some people. “Usually, the risk of taking glucosamine is financial because it’s not inexpensive,” she says. “But, if you feel like it’s helping you, then maybe it’s doing something that we don’t understand.”

→Prioritize Sleep and Nutrition

“Good nutrition and sleep—that just helps everything,” Labrador says, noting that it’s difficult to conduct studies on the measurable impact of these lifestyle factors. “People talk about an anti-inflammatory diet, which is great in theory, but nobody agrees on what it is.”

That said, you likely can’t go wrong prioritizing fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins over sugar, processed foods, and alcohol. And sleep is a non-negotiable.

“If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body is not going to be able to adapt the training that you’re doing and potentially repair the damage that you do when you’re training to get stronger,” Labrador says. So, even if you are taking other steps to maintain and improve your joint health, they could be less effective without the benefits of sleep.

→Stretch and Do Mobility Moves

The stronger and more flexible your muscles and tendons, the less likely you are to have an injury, Labrador explains.

In general, movement stimulates the release of synovial fluid in the joint capsule, allowing it to move more easily. There’s also significant data indicating that, over time, physical activity positively affects cartilage health. And some research suggests that exercise may delay the progression of osteoarthritis.

Doing flexibility work that helps develop and maintain range of motion supports healthy joints, too. In fact, a Journal of Sport and Health Science meta-analysis published in 2024 found that regular static stretching improves range of motion, which can help you move with more ease.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends stretching two to three times every week, although daily is a smart goal. Hold static stretches to the point of feeling only slight discomfort (not pain!) for at least 60 seconds, McDowell says. Focus on diaphragmatic breathing, or long, slow belly breaths, as you hold the pose.

You can also do dynamic stretches, such as leg swings and arm circles, which are good for mobility and thus make your joints more comfortable with movement.