Painful joints and feeling "old"

[doc holiday13]

This is a PSA

I turned 40 about 6 months ago and life is starting to catch me. I'm fighting back though. Last few years its been easy to get a small disk bulge that would put me out for a few weeks of the gym. Injure myself lifting too much. etc.

I got fed up and got back in the gym and still dealing with painful shoulders and lingering back pain.. Bottom line, despite getting stronger in the gym my flexibility was the worst. All my aches and pains were cumulative and not result of 1 instance. Non fully rehab'd injury, sitting in a chair for hours a day 5x week, long breaks from the gym, not focusing on flexibility.

Rehab and flexibility are some big big fixes i've recently implemented and I'm able to significantly subdue daily pains. I don't have much weight to truly loose, Currently I'm 18% bodyfat. which means I should loose 10# to get myself back into "athlete" status at 14%. Hip and low back flexibility are going far for my situation. Its also taken about 30 days of consistently stretching(daily) my low back, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings and quads. I do 20 minute sessions. Sometimes 2x a day and I've started utilizing my stand up desk for a few hours a day. For shoulders I've integrated band exercisese

If you're feeling all the aches and pains at middle age, consult with a physical therapist. Generally your insurance company will cover a big portion of rehab. Once you've learned all the exercises you can do most of it at home. Some people might need to start with their family/General Practioner. Generally a GP has no problem writing you a script for a PT. Also you can your PT to include the appropriate bands in your billing OR charge the cost of bands against your FSA or HSA.

Get healthy, feel better and remember that you don't have to choose between flexibility and strength. You can have both and need both .

 

[robby denning]

super advice!

 

[TSAMP]

I'm mid 30s and actually just visited a PT yesterday for some lingering calf/knee issues. It's minor but has been persistent and is limiting the distance I run. So at my annual physical my normal doctor set me up.

I explained the minor discomfort caused and explained to the PT my concern of making sure nothing was wrong in there, as I'm abit of a hypochondriac and I'm afraid I'm causing damage.

He said "dust causes rust". Our bodies are not machines, and the worse thing you can do is remain stagnant. He said if u spray WD on a rusted pair of pliers it wont do anything. You need to work it back and fourth to see the benefit.

Keep moving, rest when needed and don't ignore pain but pay attention to it, it's telling you the areas you need to work on.

I'm focusing on mobility and stretching now at his direction, which admittedly is something I knew going Into this.

 

[E.Shell]

Good post OP!

I'm in my late 60s and have had both desk jobs and active jobs. I felt better by far when I was moving around the most. Worst is sitting at a desk all week, then engaging in something strenuous on the weekend.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Good post, I'll add that eating right also helps. Sugar (and things that convert to sugar), alcohol, seed oils, and processed foods can also contribute to inflammation leading to aches, pains, and often disease.

 

[fngTony]

My shoulders would tense up just from a 15lb day pack. Started doing bench press at 70% of max focusing on form. That seems to have realigned my upper back and shoulders.

About two years ago I really lost my agility and endurance on a trail. Knees weren’t painful but just fatigued. Calves would lose their ability to relax. Between the two coming down a steep trail I had maybe 40% of my range of motion from my knees down. You know something is wrong when you’re faster going uphill. Started with finding a good shoe with proper fit. Doing calf raises (body weight only) a few times a week at 100 reps. Looked up some videos on trekking pole techniques, I wasn’t using them right.

 

[flathead#2]

@ 58 y/o its road trips and plane rides that get me the worst.

 

[jeffpg]

@ 58 y/o its road trips and plane rides that get me the worst.

Yeah, I feel your pain brother...
I just turned 63. I also just had a total hip replacement done on my left hip, the right one won't be too far behind. I put it off and pushed it farther than I should have, but it's done now and THAT particular pain from arthritis is gone but the recovery is tough. Not sure if my left knee is supposed to be hurting this much either. It's been 3.5 weeks since the surgery and I see my Dr. for the first follow up tomorrow so I will see. The physical therapy has been hard but I can tell it's helping. It's still strange to me how they can split your ass muscles to make the room to cut your femur and remove the ball, drill/drive another ball on a stem into your leg bone, machine the arthritis out of the socket and rework it and send you out on a walker the same day. Then, you begin PT the following day. Still amazes me. I'm walking everywhere on a cane, and all around the house, etc. without it. Modern medicine.

 

[Hopapa]

Great advice, thanks OP!

 

[3325]

This is a PSA

And it was a good one.

For shoulders I've integrated band exercises.

Effective, versatile, joint friendly, and underrated. I like my bands. The old-school “chest expander” is in the same category. Find some YouTube videos on “strand pulling” for history and ideas.

Get healthy, feel better and remember that you don't have to choose between flexibility and strength. You can have both and need both .

Sage. Play the long game. We should aspire to be the next Jack Lalanne, not the next Ronnie Coleman.

 

[3325]

@ 58 y/o its road trips and plane rides that get me the worst.

About to turn 58. How do I get so tired from just sitting?

 

[Lowedown]

OP thanks for the advice and reminder that we aren't 20 anymore and need to be diligent. A body in motion tends to stay in motion!

 

[stv117]

well this I'll come in handy someday, thanks.

 

[kpk]

same as you and completely agree. sometimes just bending over to pick something up or twisting funny while working on something reminds me I'm getting old.

I've found that my knees are really a weak spot but If I take glucosamine they feel considerably better.

 

[87TT]

Damn I wish I was 40 something again!

 

[Poser]

Tumeric/Curcumin tends to be helpful for joint inflammation. In order to digest it, it needs to be taken with a fat source and black pepper. You can find it in supplement form with MCT Oil and black pepper already added or you can just eat the root itself with a fat source and black pepper.

Boswelia Serrata Extract is another anti inflammatory that has gained quite a bit of popularity for joint inflammation. its relatively cheap and you'll find that it is endorsed by quite a few MDs.

Omega 3s, whether its in supplement form or regularly consuming fish will also make quite a bit of difference.

and, of course, Glucosamine/chondriton/MSM. These have slipped in popularity in recent years when compared to the above sources, but still seem to be viable and relatively cheap. Its actually prescription based in the EU. The only way you can get Glucosamine is through supplement form and it takes at least 60 days of regular and consistent consumption to see any benefit.

Finally, you have to kill your sugar intake and possibly greatly reduce any other source of inflammatories such as flour or your joints will remain inflamed.

 

[cjdewese]

As I am getting older I am doing a lot more mobility exercises and functional fitness than I am strength training.

All of the older people that I know that still get around well at 75+, every single one of them focused on mobility later in their lives.

I have historically had shoulder pain and doing a hanging regiment has all but healed any shoulder issues I previously had.

The vast majority of any lower back issues I have had actually came from tight hamstrings and glutes, still trying to increase mobility there. Sitting at a desk and driving an hour or more to and from work hasn't helped the last 13 years.

 

[Mod Mort]

Good advice! OMEGA-3s aren't a bad idea either.

 

[jpmulk]

Good post, I'll add that eating right also helps. Sugar (and things that convert to sugar), alcohol, seed oils, and processed foods can also contribute to inflammation leading to aches, pains, and often disease.

I’m only in my mid 30s, but this is one my wife and I are focusing on. Cutting sugars, processed foods.

 

[*zap*]

Turned 40.....