Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease where the cushion and cartilage surrounding your joints wears away -- typically, in the knees and hips.

The pain can keep you from doing many of the things that you love. The risk increases with age but it’s not inevitable because lots of older folks have perfectly healthy joints.

Here’s how you can preserve mobility. If you can lose 10 pounds, you can decrease the risk of developing Osteo of the knee by a half.

Do exercises that strengthen muscles that support joints, including range of motion and stretching exercises to keep the joints flexible in all directions.

Correct bad body posture and improve your balance. Tai Chi and yoga are great for that.

Take a load off misaligned joints with orthotics or splints

Don’t wait until things hurt, start young.