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Non-runners view running as a painful, tedious, and exhausting form of exercise that should be avoided unless you’re trying to get in shape and lose weight. The post-workout panting and muscle soreness may do more for your health, though, than just shed the pounds and tone you up. Running just five minutes a day can actually reduce your all-cause risk of mortality and let you breathe in three more years of life. Currently, only five percent of American adults do some sort of physical activity on any given day, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. These vigorous physical...

Joint problems may be an indication of underlying health problems too, like rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, so any unusual pains, loss of movement and inflamed - hot and red - joints should be checked out by a doctor.[Read more: Lower back pain exercises and 7 more tips]Cause for concern"We are seeing increasing numbers of younger adults presenting with joint troubles. What is more worrying, is that it appears younger people are coming to seek physiotherapy treatment for arthritic joints," says physiotherapist Tim Allardyce."Two of the most common conditions are degenerative disc disease [DDD], typically a condition you might see...

Do your knees creak? Does your neck crack? Do you get clicking noises in your ankles, wrists or hips?Are you worried these noises are a harbinger of arthritis, or some other debilitating condition that sometimes accompanies advancing years?There's no denying the joints in our bodies can make a weird and wonderful array of perplexing sounds, says Dr Michael Vagg, a lecturer in medicine at Victoria's Deakin University.But do we need to see someone about those strange snaps, pops or crunches or are noisy joints better ignored?Usually, if there are no other symptoms, you don't need to lose sleep over noisy...

Prof Mike Hurley: ‘I know what it’s like to live with pain’Paddy MagraneA physiotherapist has devised a revolutionary new way of coping with arthritis pain. Now Arthritis Research UK is helping him spread the wordEverybody knows they should be doing more exercise, but those living with the pain of arthritis are often unsure what to do. There’s also a heightened awareness of any aches and discomfort that may arise – signals that can indicate exercise is doing more harm than good.But Prof Mike Hurley, physiotherapist and Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences at St George’s University of London and Kingston University, and clinical director of...

Pain is defined by the sufferer’s experience. Pain may be severe because it is intense, frequent or sustained, and because it is distressing.What is currently known about the causes of severe arthritis pain?The severity of pain is not simply due to what is going on in the joint, but is also affected by how the body processes the pain signals, and the context in which it is experienced.Arthritis pain is more commonly severe when the joint is inflamed, when the normal protective cushioning in the joint (the cartilage) has been damaged, and when the bone underneath the joint is exposed...