How to protect your knees, hips and shoulders and keep your joints fit

Our knees, hips, shoulders and ankles work like well-oiled hinges, carrying out demanding tasks every day. Yet many people pay attention to their joints only after movement becomes painful, often following an injury.

Wolfgang Schillings, a sports physician at Hamburg’s University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and team doctor for HSV’s footballers, says the right balance of endurance and strength training can do a great deal to protect the joints. It may also help prevent injuries and wear.

In his book “Fit and Strong Joints,” Schillings offers exercises intended to help prevent knee osteoarthritis and ease stiffness in the neck and shoulder area. The SPIEGEL podcast “Smarter leben” explores how much exercise joints need and which movements suit the shoulders, knees and wrists.

The episode also addresses what runners should look for when buying shoes. The audio was unavailable at the time of publication, but the podcast can be heard and subscribed to through major podcast apps.