While joint conditions aren’t necessarily a part of ageing, soreness, pain, stiffness and general discomfort in your knees, shoulders, hips and hands do often become more common as you get older.
Synovial joints are the ones in your body where bones are not connected; these include ball-and-socket joints in the hip and shoulder, hinge and pivot joints in the elbows, plane joints in the wrist, condyloid joints in fingers and saddle joints in thumbs, and the temporomandibular joint in the jaw. A cavity exists between these joints and fibrous connective tissue forming the walls of the cavity, creating an articular capsule. This cavity is filled with synovial fluid, a thick liquid that lubricates your synovial joints and keeps them moving smoothly.