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I do not agree that "it's when you slack off, that your joints decline".
The cartilage in the knees, for example, can become less and less, smaller and smaller over time from exercising and walking and physical labor or athletics.
Then, for some people, bone is rubbing against bone in the knees and it can be excruciatingly painful.
Bad things can happen to cartilage in some people, no matter what they do. But in most cases, good levels of activity are beneficial. Cartilage has no blood circulation. It gets its nutrients and oxygen/CO2 exchange from the fluid in the joints. The cartilage has pores running through it and when pressure is put on a joint, it forces fluid into them. When the pressure is relaxed, the fluid comes back out. The nutrients and oxygen are delivered in this manner. There is blood flowing in tissues in contact with the fluid, which is the source. If you go inactive or significantly reduce it, the cartilage is shorted on these essentials it needs to maintain itself.
I and several friends, have had good results by taking supplements of MSM and glucosamine hydrochloride. These substances are always present in our bodies, but as we get older, the glucosamine production we have, may decline and since it's used to keep the joints healthy, may be in inadequate amounts. You can't take it if you are allergic to shellfish, which is its source.
The MSM is an organic sulfur compound that is essential to all life. We get it in our food, but modern irrigation doesn't provide nearly as much to our food sources, as natural, direct rainfall will do. It forms in the atmosphere from other compounds. Out ancient ancestors ate foods directly from mostly rain-watered plants and got plenty of it. The supplemental capsules seal it from oxygen until we take them and keep it from degrading. Look up these things on Search to learn more.
Many people have knee problems which have progressed way beyond taking MSM and glucosamine as a remedy or preventative or as an assist in keeping healthy. And way beyond any effectiveness of taking Synvisc shots in the knee or cortisone shots in the knee.
I have zero cartilage in one knee, and bone is rubbing against bone.
I'm well aware of MSM and glucosamine, and those two substances are very well-known by anyone with knee problems especially.
Last edited by matisse12; 11-24-2016 at 04:09 AM..
It is well known that approaching death accelerates cognitive decline. The converse issue, that is, the question of whether rapid declines in cognitive ability are risk factors for imminent death, has not been investigated. Every 4 years between 1983 and 2003, we gave 1,414 healthy community residents who were aged between 49 and 93 years the Heim AH4-1 test of fluid intelligence. A modified Andersen–Gill model evaluated AH4-1 scores at entry to the study and changes in scores between successive quadrennial test sessions as risk factors for death and dropout. Deaths, dropouts, age, gender, occupational categories, and recruitment cohorts were also taken into account. Participants with lower AH4-1 scores on entry were significantly more likely to die or to drop out. At all ages and levels of baseline intelligence, the risks of deaths and dropouts further increased if test scores fell by 10%, and again increased if they fell by 20% during 4-year intervals between successive assessments.
This is not a very large number of subjects for this type of study, so one should take the results with caution. There might be enough info to recommend that a more substantial study be done, but this particular study is not complete by any means.
If everything you say is true, athletes and manual workers would never have to retire.
Well, that was pretty dang true for Jack LaLane! Runners, dancers, swimmers, and cyclists often are in amazing shape, mentally and physically well in to their late 70s and even 80s. It depends on the sport and what it does to your body. I doubt any aggressive team sport or say, golf or bowling qualifies for life enhancement due to improved physical condition. Mental, yes.
Supplements are of little or no use once the damage is done. They don't grow cartilege or replace synovial fluid. Their value lies in preventing the damage in the first place, by allowing your body to make the compounds it would ordinarily if the building blocks were there. Taking them well before you need them is what counts.
Last edited by Perryinva; 11-24-2016 at 07:19 AM..
At 72 I was fine until I had cataract surgery this past summer. It caused "glare" at night which means big long rays of light stream out from street lights and any other light alongside the road. So driving at night is really difficult because of all the blinding lights. It has also disrupted my day time vision, and another thing: a film has developed over both of the new lenses.
In a few weeks I get to have more cataract surgery, something called a yag. Quick laser surgery to remove the film that has grown. After that there may be some improvement. The whole thing has been a big let down because this surgeon was supposed to be really good and he even told me I'd never need glasses again. Ha! I already had to pay $200 (Medicare pays the first $200) for new progressive lens glasses that I can't see though. After this "yag" correction, I will try again with different glasses from a different optician, probably at Costo for under $400.
This surgery is really limiting my enjoyment of life and has negatively affected my ability to function on my own, especially in the realm of driving.
It is the New Normal. I am 64 and suffer extreme fatigue without doing anything, I basically cannot do anything.
I have Fibromyalgia, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and thyroid cancer. I won't get any better only hold my own or get worse.
I definately feel old.
At 72 I was fine until I had cataract surgery this past summer. It caused "glare" at night which means big long rays of light stream out from street lights and any other light alongside the road. So driving at night is really difficult because of all the blinding lights. It has also disrupted my day time vision, and another thing: a film has developed over both of the new lenses.
In a few weeks I get to have more cataract surgery, something called a yag. Quick laser surgery to remove the film that has grown. After that there may be some improvement. The whole thing has been a big let down because this surgeon was supposed to be really good and he even told me I'd never need glasses again. Ha! I already had to pay $200 (Medicare pays the first $200) for new progressive lens glasses that I can't see though. After this "yag" correction, I will try again with different glasses from a different optician, probably at Costo for under $400.
This surgery is really limiting my enjoyment of life and has negatively affected my ability to function on my own, especially in the realm of driving.
Sounds like cataract surgery has been more of a problem than a help for you. I am really sorry for that. I can relate to everything you said, as I have had similar experience.
As I have mentioned a few times before, I had cataract surgery at the same time I had glaucoma surgery. My surgeon is excellent, too. But he is human. Sometimes "things" happen that even they do not anticipate.
He did my right eye first (Nov. 2010). When inserting the new lens for the cataract part, the lens became stuck on the iris. Something he was not able to "fix" at that time. My right eye is a "lazy" eye and I have always noticed a weakness in it. So this mishap of lens sticking to iris was a real problem. He knew I was having a lot of problems because of it; but could not address it until he did the left eye. The optic nerve pressure was too high to wait more than the allotted 3 months. He did not want to take a chance of something more happening to the right eye until he felt comfortable that the left eye surgery was a success (thankfully, it was). So about 6 months later he did laser treatment to address the problem with the right eye lens. I think he shot about 75 to 100 laser shots into the right eye. Thankfully, the laser treatment "took." But I will always need to wear glasses.
I remember driving at night through a town with a lot of lights and I felt like I was driving through an amusement park!! Each light had at least one or two duplicates. That problem is a lot better now. But bright light is tough. Not sure if that is from glaucoma surgery or cataract surgery. But the important thing is I can still see. I can't imagine going blind.
The glaucoma pressures are so much better now; I go in for pretty frequent pressure checks.
Unfortunately there is another problem with the right eye; the back of the eye is somewhat puckered which distorts the vision from it. My doctor is watching this closely as it could mean another right eye surgery. I am hoping that does not happen.
But the main take-away from this is that we have come so far in eye treatment. What I have had done for glaucoma surgery is quite new, with new research happening every day. Sight is a wonderful thing; I urge everyone to get their eyes checked at least yearly. Never take it for granted.
in-newengland: Please give it time. We are impatient and want everything back 100% yesterday. But it does not work that way. I have had to accept my situation. After acceptance, it gets easier to find ways to overcome any limitations you feel you have. Good luck.
Last edited by NYgal1542; 11-24-2016 at 09:39 AM..
Reason: added last paragraph.
I'm 68 and hubby is 66.
Hubby has always been a workhorse. I used to tease him that he could spend all day digging ditches, then look around and say, "Need any more ditches?" Now, he has had a hip replacement and has arthritis in his neck and shoulder. He works about 24 hours a week at Home Depot to keep busy, and the few days he works 8 hours at a time really are hard on him. He's always shocked that when he gets home he has to hit the recliner for the rest of the day to recover.
As for me, I have arthritis also, but mine is in the back and knees. I just keep getting cortisone shots to try to stave off the inevitable knee replacements. I, like OP, have no stamina. We have a new outlet mall here, but I can only hit a few stores and then I'm done. One trip to the grocery store or the doctor or dentist is all I want to do in one day. If I spend a lot of time standing, my back hurts.
So in answer to your question, OP, what your experiencing seems perfectly normal to me. Just keep faking it til you make it. It's what I do. It's a kind of a dance between listening to your body when it wants to rest, but push yourself a little too.
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