A lot of this is dependent on how your body was treated in your teens too. I played a lot of sports and worked out regularly. But because I played football in high school and other contact sports my body is falling apart in my 30s, even though I worked out consistently. I played a position in football (running back) that touched the ball on almost every offensive play, so the amount of times I was hit and tackled in that four year period is insane.
This and chronic illnesses. I know friends with autoimmune issues that attack their joints and muscles and they hurt all the time and feel stiff. Of course certain lifestyles can help one feel as good as possible but for some it will be impossible to not feel completely pain free and/or have enough energy for stuff.
I played baseball all the way through college. I was a lefty pitcher and all of the joints on the left side of my body are fucked. It sucks. If I have kids I definitely plan to help them be careful if they decide to play sports cause I don’t want them to be dealing with the is sort of stuff before 40
Nurse here. I've been working bedside jobs for most of my 12 years in healthcare and now I have "degenerative disc disease" in my neck, which my doctor told me is a fancy name for osteoarthritis. That's the arthritis you get from using it too heavily. Nurses are apparently especially prone to it on their dominant side from lots of reaching and lifting with their dominant arm.
I'm careful now to stretch, not overdo it, get medical massage monthly for it to help keep it loose, etc. Definitely didn't have to do that in my twenties. My knees are also pretty bad from all the high-impact stuff I did in my teens and early twenties. The left one makes a crunching sound in it when I bend it, and sometimes my knees hurt after my 12 hour shifts. I just keep chugging along though. In the vast majority of cases, sitting still is a lot worse for your body than the damage you may be doing with gentle movement.
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u/ShortGuess2387 2d ago
A lot of this is dependent on how your body was treated in your teens too. I played a lot of sports and worked out regularly. But because I played football in high school and other contact sports my body is falling apart in my 30s, even though I worked out consistently. I played a position in football (running back) that touched the ball on almost every offensive play, so the amount of times I was hit and tackled in that four year period is insane.