In this Healthy Living report, Time Warner Cable News’ Kristen Shaughnessy talks with an orthopedic surgeon about what you can do to keep your joints healthy.

Joint health is often something people take for granted until something goes wrong. Orthopedic surgeon David Neuman says you have to be smart when you are using them and know what to do if you hurt them.

"The soft tissues around the joints can stretch out, become bruised, become tired and then potentially tear,” he says.

Dr. Neuman says the key is taking care of your joints before that happens, but if you do need surgery to repair an injury, he says the follow-up care is just as important.

"Whether you spend two hours inside the joint or ten minutes, whether you do an ACL reconstruction or ligament reconstruction or rotator cuff repair, just entering the joint can lead to inflammation and the inflammation can lead to stiffness, pain, weakness and dysfunction," Dr. Neuman says.

Dr. Neuman created the website Pop-Doc.com with a physical therapist to guide people on what to do to keep their joints healthy and also what to do if they're recovering from surgery. He says the key to recovery is waking the joint up again, getting the muscles to work and mending the joint capsule.

"We believe in range of motion, condition, tone, flexibility of the joints is really important for joint health,” Dr. Neuman says. “Pop-doc.com has educational areas where you can learn about the joints as well as home exercises that you can bring down to your smart phone, depending on what joint's bothering you, or what joint you want to work on."

Dr. Neuman says stretching is incredibly important and for the body to stay healthy, you have to eat well, stay hydrated and well rested.