The closer that I have gotten to 60, the more that problems began to occur with hips, knees and lower back.  Several years ago, I could just barely walk up the stairs to my apartment on the second floor.  I was already taking daily walks for 30 minutes just to keep my body from locking up on me completely.

Quite by accident I made the happy discovery that sleeping on an air mattress can alleviate up to 75-80% of the pain in those three areas.  After one week of sleeping on a Walmart $40 air mattress, I actually experienced that much improvement.  I have never gone back to standard mattresses since, except for traveling.  When that happens, I notice a huge change immediately in the pain levels.

I put my mattress on the floor or right on top of my box springs.  I have a $40 pump which has lasted me for 4 years, and maybe once a year I might have to buy another mattress at Walmart.  It's the cheapest investment I have ever made with the most marked improvement in my body.  After years and years of chiropractic, vitamins, exercises, etc., I have settled upon this solution.

Oranges, grapefruits and another citrus fruits also can cause joints to ache.  I love them, but don't make a regular habit of eating them.  I can notice a change within 24 hours of eating those types of fruits.  Some people are intolerant of meats and sugars and this, too, can cause enormous joint pains.

The best way to determine which foods will work to your advantage is to remove one thing at a time from your diet and make notes of what has occurred with your body.  If no change, add it back and see what happens.  Sometimes we are completely oblivious to food allergies that we have...but that is a subject for another discussion.

Finally, shoe inserts are the modern day miracle to avoid surgeries.  I was having excruciating pains in one of my heels a few years back and called a Podiatrist, thinking I would need surgery.  His receptionist was kind enough to explain to me how shoe inserts would alleviate this problem and surgery would not be necessary at all.  The inserts from the doctor cost between $200-300 with office visit included. 

I bought some Birkenstock inserts at a local shoe store for $50 and within a few days of wearing them in my shoes, the pain was GONE completely.  For sandals, I purchased some of Merrell sandals which have wonderful arch support and an ergonomic shape.  If I go for a couple months without wearing my inserts at ALL, the heel pain will return slowly.  So then I pull out my other shoes and wear the inserts for a few days.

WARNING:  When first wearing these inserts, I would advise you to only wear them for a few hours each day and gradually build up the length of time.  You will be amazed at the amount of realignment that occurs in your body when you are wearing the inserts, particularly all day.  Sometimes it is painful and your spine and entire body will ache madly from the readjustment period so moderation might be a good way to go.  Of course, no two bodies are alike and there are no hard and fast rules that apply to all of them....other than they need to eat, breathe and sleep.

If you have found this guide to be helpful, I do hope that you will vote yes below.