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I know someone who was engaged in various vigorous sports for much of his adult life: running, weights, badminton, ping pong. 'Healthy' in every sense. At age

I know someone who was engaged in various vigorous sports for much of his adult life: running, weights, badminton, ping pong. 'Healthy' in every sense. At age 46 he has osteo-arthritis in his hips and knees. Now: no more intensive sports. Weights are still in, but cardio is limited. He can hear/feel grinding when he walks; even 1-2 km can present a problem. He hasn't given up, though: his big project now is to try to regain the lost cartilage. Consulted doctors, did huge amounts of research, and became an expert in the field of regenerative medicine. His blog details the cutting edge treatments he's administering himself (including purchasing an ultrasound scanner and injecting drugs directly into the joints): https://myjourney2curearthritis.wordpress.com/ https://myjourney2curearthritis.wordpress.com/ In a separate conversation, my doctor friend confirmed that the cartilage in joints wears out inevitably, especially with prolonged and repetitive use (cycling, running). There's very limited blood supply to cartilage and bone, so the body has no way of regenerating what's lost. There has to be an equilibrium sought in the pursuit of fitness and the resulting wear to the body. To paraphrase James Hilton, moderation in everything, including moderation itself.

googlryas 8y ago
The person you are talking about could simply have bad biomechanics, or pushed themselves beyond what they should have and not allowed for sufficient recovery.
HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
Weights, especially if done in the extreme and with bad form can cause deterioration on the joints. Take an extreme example: Ronnie Coleman, 7-times Mr. Olympia winner( bodybuilding). Apart from the insane amounts of drugs these people inject themselves( bodybuilding competitions are the only "sport" that doesn't test the athletes for steroids), this guy was training with free weights at the extreme. We are talking about 800 lbs squats etc. He has had 8 spinal disk surguries and both his knees replaced. Compare that to Phil Heath, the current mr Olympia winner for 8 times in row( I think, could be 7). He is using mostly machines and so far( he is pretty old at this point) hasn't had any major injuries. So my point is that although machines are proven to not increase functional strength( due to the isolation of the joints), at some point weightlifting can be detrimental. I don't know if the person you are talking about took it very far or not but it certainly sounds like the type of person that would.

googlryas 8y ago

The person you are talking about could simply have bad biomechanics, or pushed themselves beyond what they should have and not allowed for sufficient recovery.

HeadsUpHigh 8y ago

Weights, especially if done in the extreme and with bad form can cause deterioration on the joints. Take an extreme example: Ronnie Coleman, 7-times Mr. Olympia winner( bodybuilding). Apart from the insane amounts of drugs these people inject themselves( bodybuilding competitions are the only "sport" that doesn't test the athletes for steroids), this guy was training with free weights at the extreme. We are talking about 800 lbs squats etc. He has had 8 spinal disk surguries and both his knees replaced. Compare that to Phil Heath, the current mr Olympia winner for 8 times in row( I think, could be 7). He is using mostly machines and so far( he is pretty old at this point) hasn't had any major injuries. So my point is that although machines are proven to not increase functional strength( due to the isolation of the joints), at some point weightlifting can be detrimental. I don't know if the person you are talking about took it very far or not but it certainly sounds like the type of person that would.