Joint pain is a common occurrence in many Americans lives, but there are steps you can take to reduce pain and prevent injury. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, wearing the proper equipment, and treating injuries early are all key. Here are a few tips to protect your bones and joints:

How Heels Hurt

Pumps, wedges, and stilettos may look great, they're not great for you. They can adversely affect the muscles, tendons, and joints of your legs - even after you take them off.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, took a look at how wearing high-heeled shoes can change the way women walk. They found that women tended to alter their gait with a shorter, more forceful stride when wearing heels, and that their feet remained in a "flexed, toes-pointed" position.

This unnatural way of walking engages more of the legs' tendons, whereas women walking in flats engaged more muscles. The long-term result is shorter fibers in their calf muscles. And, even more interesting, their altered gait remained even when they walked barefoot!

When the biomechanics of your body shift, that can create a chain reaction in your body that leads to trouble. In this case, wearing high heels can cause strain on the hamstrings, the muscles in the back of the thigh, according to a study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.

It also puts extra pressure on the inside of your knee, called medial loading, which increases your odds of developing osteoarthritis in that joint, an Iowa State University study found. Over time, wearing heels can change your posture so much that it affects your ankles, knee, hip, and lower back.

Feel like flats just won't cut it at work - or when you go out? Experts at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons advise:

• Limiting high heels to just two or three days a week.
• Buying heels with an ample toe box that doesn't crowd your toes. This will help distribute your weight more evenly.
• When you must wear heels, don't go too high.
• Take heels off as often as possible during wear - yes, even under your desk or under the dinner table!