Health Dealing with Physical Decline

[Colin D'Cops]

Having played a shit-load of tennis since about the age of 9 through 'till about 17 - my knees are just about shot. I still do weights on them at the gym and run on other days, and once they're warmed up I tend to forget about it or exclude it from the brain. If I don't warm 'em up gradually though, it is a terrible feeling. Definitely know what you're going through.

 

[volcboy]

Bad ankles forced me to give up playing basketball for 10 years. Started playing again a couple of years ago in my late 30's - my ankles have held up much better than I expected. Having a layoff from tennis for 6-12 months may give your body the opportunity to properly heal some of the niggles.

That said, I am going in for an arthroscope on one ankle in a month or so - probably should have done it 10+ years ago. It is true that, as you age (and you are relatively young) you learn to play within your physical limits more often, but that you start to notice them more

 

[Sunny_]

Tennis destroys you. When it comes down to changing direction so suddenly on the court, lunging for volleys, stretching up for serves/smash, bending and all the rest, I don't think there are many other sports as taxing as tennis.

I started tennis at 6, my Dad being one of those guys to get me in early. However, when I hit my growth spurt at about 12/13, I grew too quickly. As a result, I had to stop tennis for good or risk continual shoulder reconstructions, neck and back pain. I was devastated at the time, but have since enjoyed tennis regularly without the professionalism. Just go for a casual hit, as it were.

I don't know how serious you are into tennis, but if you have a Coach that has to remodel your serve, perhaps it's time to wind it back a little. It definitely sounds like your days of regular training and competition are gone.

It's certainly not the end of the world though. There are plenty of other sports/activities you can do that don't put the same physical demand on your body.

If you're looking for an activity to do while you recover from something like back pain, I suggest water aerobics. Something that has the cliche of just old people dancing around in the pool, but it's becoming increasingly popular as a method for recovery. Get the physical workout, but none of the stress.

 

[Caesar]

Thanks for the tips / kind words. I think (hope?) the people who've said I'm on a merry-go-round may be right... I'll have an extended break, take time to get my body right and see how I go after that. I play mostly serve & volley and as Sunny says, it's pretty taxing on the body. Maybe with a bit of a tweak to my style I can continue to play at a reasonable level without the injuries. If not, I'll give it away in favour of something more forgiving. At this point it's just not worth the grief.

I don't think I am going to enjoy getting older.

 

[gimp!]

right knee is in poor condition from tennis also, pounding the plexipave for a good 10 years will do it. but i don't miss tennis, golf is where it's at for me, with the occasional racketball game.

 

[100action]

Consider using TRT or HGH.

 

[Roobs321]

I've dialed it back this year.
Ran in 3 marathons over the last 2 years, but now just enjoy my long walks. I might try some jogging again in the summer, but i'll never run competitively or seriously again.

My diet is pretty good, so I dont really need exercise too much. I just go on 8-10km walks a few times a week.

 

[La Dispute]

I used to play basketball, tennis and football but I never got injured like I did with tennis.

I often had joint pain, tennis elbow and a host of other problems (shin splints?) which would accumulate throughout a tennis season. I had awful growing pains as well when I was 15 which stopped me playing for a prolonged period of time.

I'd be taking it easy Caesar. Probably just take some time off and monitor your food closely to avoid putting on any weight.

 

[wce4premiership]

Out of interest, what martial arts do you do?

 

[Caesar]

Taekwondo mostly, but I've recently switched to goju-ryu karate.

Also done a bit of tai chi, which was surprisingly good.

 

[childeric]

I am on the wrong side of 50 and now do 5km fast walks, 200 crunches & 200 push-ups each day

I used to run but wish to minimise the damage to knees, hips etc.

Have greatly increased my fruit and vege intake, eat fish and small amount of red meat only

 

[AtomicBlonde]

I can only offer some advice that helped me out of a similar situation:

When I was 26, I started having groin and back pain after surfing (which I have been doing since age 8) and could never figure out what was going on. My GP at the time (an alcoholic, racist old fart) was no help and it got to the point where my groin was so painful and tight that I not only gave surfing up but stopped weight-training and martial arts too. It even hurt sitting in a car too long or just walking around for longer than 30 minutes at a time. I was that miserable, I couldn't think straight but I then met a Physiotherapist who suggested swimming laps and weekly massaging both of which I took up. Then I started having acupuncture on my problem areas and within 8 weeks I was back lifting weights and not long after (having modifed my stance) back surfing.

In between all of this I had scans done all that which never helped to enlighten me as to what was happening to my body but whatever it was, I was able to quash it for the most part. I still get a bit tight through the lower back and groin every now and then but I keep up the monthly massages and acupuncture (and swim twice a week) and at 33 have no other health complaints.

Good luck Caesar.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

Change it up a bit; drop the yoga or martial arts for pilates maybe.

Take up the 'Alexander Technique', work on your core strength especially - are you well muscled? If so, probably try to drop some to lighten the load on your body.

 

[Rod Stroker]

I don't know if anyone has any insight but **** I just needed to rant. I'm ******* over it. **** this shit, I'm ******* off to get ******* pissed.

****.

I believe you've found your answer. Get off the court, stay in the bar.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Tennis destroys you. When it comes down to changing direction so suddenly on the court, lunging for volleys, stretching up for serves/smash, bending and all the rest, I don't think there are many other sports as taxing as tennis.

Squash. It's actually more taxing because it's half the size of a tennis court meaning the ball comes back at you faster so you have less reaction time to get to shots. Then if you're lucky enough to get there on time you need to think strategy in milliseconds about where to place your shot to win the point.
Love it. Chess on speed with a racquet. Murder on your leg joints though.

 

[Sunny_]

Squash. It's actually more taxing because it's half the size of a tennis court meaning the ball comes back at you faster so you have less reaction time to get to shots. Then if you're lucky enough to get there on time you need to think strategy in milliseconds about where to place your shot to win the point.
Love it. Chess on speed with a racquet. Murder on your leg joints though.

So true. I tried squash. Never again.

Even if you want a light hit around, it's pretty taxing.

 

[Rod Stroker]

It's OK if you're the guy good enough to anchor himself on the T intersection in the middle of the court, dictating play while his opponent is doing laps around him with his tongue dragging on the ground. More often than not I'm usually the latter
On the bright side though, it is good for your fitness, you just need to be careful that your body can handle it. Heard too many cases of exploding hearts on the squash court

 

[kickazz]

Yeah all I can add is to watch the diet when you are going through a less active/recovery phase. As important as exercise is, diet tends to be the bigger factor for most people, esp after the age of 25. I really can't stress this enough. If a Mars bar / maccas / Coke etc quoted energy in equivalent amounts of exercise you'd soon see what I'm talking about.
Try to cross train to use other 'working' parts of the body more to maintain CV fitness.

Oh yeah and sleep - the body's healing mechanisms work best when asleep, so make sure you are getting adequate amounts.

 

[Hoffy95]

OK here's what to do.

Type in IDDQD.

Full fitness and untouchable.

 

[Caesar]

Understanding that reference just makes me feel even older.

 

[Andre]

I have just got back from tennis having, for the third time this year, screwed something in my back.

I'll ask the obvious one of have you had your back scanned? It's depressing when they find issues with it, but IMO the only thing worse is not knowing why your body is playing up.

 

[radiojake]

played my first game of (pub) footy yesterday in 10 weeks after I had a subluxation of my left knee in a game... (3rd time in my life) - Not quite enough damage for surgery, but I surely must be getting close after three of them -

Had the left knee strapped and a patella stabiliser brace on - It felt quite good running around and my left knee didn't give me any trouble - However, I was slow as sh*t and unfit and we only had one on the bench so I ended up playing a full game (which I was not counting on!) - Lumbering around with the grace of an oversized dog of some sort - certainly was feeling it this morning....


I am only 28 and it worries me quite a bit - I ride my bicycle everywhere but that really does nothing to help aerobic capacity like I hoped it would -

Nothing like a dose of reality - Our minds stay quick but the body doesn't respond with the same vigor or speed!

 

[JuddsABlue]

stop getting injured bro that'll sort most of your issues out

 

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

Im in the same boat with cricket and footy as I approach 30. Cant get through more than a few overs of bowling before I just get too sore to carry on. I love the sport, but I cant bat for crap but there is no point playing anymore so Ive given it up.

With footy, my fitness is ok, and rarely get injured (a day of cricket bowling is harder than any footy game Ive ever played) but now I suffer from an acute case of general shitness. I love training, and keeping fit, and think my general skills are ok but when it comes to games I've lost all ability. Never was very good but now its rock bottom. Lost all sense of situational awareness and propioception eg: where to run etc, where my opponents are when I get the ball, reading the play. Sucks balls. Sitting on the pine more and more and it sucks balls. Nothing is as bad as the feeling of getting dragged.

I know giving up footy will make me depressed as crap (even though its depressing being so shit now). Its a lose/lose. I hate going to the gym and running for no reason. And no other sport can give me the same workout. I like tennis but its just too stop start to get the same fitness workout IMO.

FML.

 

[evo]

take fish or flaxseed oil - lift weights with progressive overload - don't be pussy [russian accent]