Stretching exercises can help prevent arthritis--especially the most common kind of arthritis, known as “osteoarthritis” or “degenerative joint disease.” Cartilage covers the bone in all the joints of our bodies. In arthritis, the cartilage becomes dried out, frayed, rough, and can even be lost altogether. This cartilage lacks a direct blood supply--no capillaries feed its living cells, yet those cells need oxygen and nutrients. With movement, the “synovial” fluid in a joint is squished in and out of the cartilage, nourishing the cartilage cells. In arthritis, the cartilage at the periphery of a joint is often the first to degenerate. By stretching and thereby moving joints through their full range of motion, you massage the entire cartilage and help keep it healthy. Joints were made to move, and they need to move to stay healthy.