High impact sports - how badly do you pay the price?

[FinanceDude]

Well, I am now paying the piper for high jumping in high school and college all those years. I've been stretching forever, but I am sure I did some permanent damage in my neck.

But heck, it was fun to high jump..........

 

[FinanceDude]

If you think hockey and football are "straight line activities", you've never played or watched either sport.

More like "removing the line" sports........

 

[FinanceDude]

High impact sports and how badly do you pay the price? Answer this: how many people that played high impact sports do you know that lived to 100? Not many, I suspect.
I've been thinking of this lately and have mentioned it to a neighbor that rough sports figures seem to die very young--while classical musicians and intellectuals seem to live a long, long time often. Case closed.

What about tennis??

 

[Fireup2020]

Hmmm, continuing to play volleyball, softball, downhill ski, mountain bike....but the WORST one is the 3 miles the Navy makes me RUN in 1.5 mile increments every 6 months! Running for the sake of running? bleah!

As long as the pleasure exceeds the pain, I will continue, although due to various injuries (knees & shoulder - and stitches here and there) I am not as hot on a field, court, trail, or slope as I once was, and only a mere 37 years old

 

[TargaDave]

Just because something is low impact doesn't mean it doesn't lead to injury. Competitive rowers often end up with low back problems even though there is virtually no impact involved, just huge loads on the lower back. I'm sure there are lots of other similar examples for both sports and other activities.

I shifted from terra-firma sports in my teens to water sports in my 20's. Lower back is still my weak link now at 49. Water is a heck of lot more forgiving than dirt but I smacked it so hard this last fall I separated some ribs. I now wear an impact vest during my favorite water activity.

 

[Nords]

Wow, lots of cautionary tales. I think I'm going to drop the football now, and try and wean myself off the ball hockey over the next few years, and replace them with lower impact sports. I'm only 155 lbs with good muscle strength, so my own body isn't putting a great deal of stress on itself, but the bodies of my much larger opponents are exerting a lot of stress on mine in the aforementioned sports

If you insist on a contact sport, you can get similar-size matches from martial arts like taekwondo. Tournaments are run by belt level, weight, and age (in about that order) so you're not going to be at a significant disadvantage. Other alternatives are karate, judo, and aikido/hapkido.

 

[deserat]

Hmm - my husband and I play badminton and most of the players are pretty old - it migrates from a games of agressiveness to skill and cunning - still need to get around the court and the twisting takes its toll. I love watching some old geezer make some young 'fart' run around the court and lose. Skiing - don't have to be gun ho about it - can do cruisers and still enjoy yourself - now, unfortunately, I have this mindset of 'must be challenged' and do some real steep every now and then -husband gets mad at me and leaves for other runs That's OK - it's the only sport I can beat him in Knees have started hurting along with back - that's what prophylactic aspirin is for - otherwise all is fine. I think it comes down to how hard you play - moderation being the key.

 

[HFWR]

Well, lessee, one broken finger, one mashed finger, nose broken, lip busted, rotator cuff shot, lower back pain, both knees gimpy...

No more contact sports for me (with one exception...), but I still enjoy bicycling, walking, and working out on my $45 Craigslist universal machine...

I can tell you one thing, though. When it's cold, that mashed finger gets S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E...

It IS gonna hurt in the morning...

 

[unclemick]

Well - so now using both sets of fingers(to minimize joint strain) to open shelled peanuts while watching football(or other sport on tv) is probably prudent for an older ER such as myself - eh!

heh heh heh - keep your kayak out of the white water and only converse with the slower chicks when you are 'Mall Walking'.

I still don't have the nerve to try the Senior Center gym and the Peppermint candy routine.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well, lessee, one broken finger, one mashed finger, nose broken, lip busted, rotator cuff shot, lower back pain, both knees gimpy...

And thats just from the hookers!

I have two busted fingers, a broken thumb and split the bone in my hand that the ring finger is attached to. Man, I hate cold damp days.

 

[CheapCanuck]

I hear you. I suffered a spiral fracture of my left index finger a couple years ago. the bone shifted again early in the healing process, and as a result it healed crookedly. The knuckle is always swollen, but the cold weather makes it ache pretty fiercely...

 

[dumpster56]

If you think hockey and football are "straight line activities", you've never played or watched either sport.

Still skate, use a brace. Acl is still hanging together. Do many exercises to keep muscles around the knee strong and flexible.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I use the clapper. Thank god for that invention!

Careful - you can get tendonitis of the hand. And isn't that how you get the clap?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

In fact, it brings to mind Ha's remark, that one of the favorite pastimes of this board is to sit in judgement of the way others lead their lives.

Seems to be a lot of that going around... .

Sports and fighting among testosterone-drenched young males will always be with us -- better the former than the latter.

I boxed until it hurt too much (PAL in high school), played raquetball until a nearby wall dislocated my clavicle, and loved every minute of both (except for the injuries). I think I escaped with no permanent damage, except maybe a few IQ points from the boxing.

Happy now to plug in to a podcast and jog 5 miles a few times a week.

 

[Alan]

Careful - you can get tendonitis of the hand. And isn't that how you get the clap?

Yes, the slow hand clap

 

[Walt34]

Man, I hate cold damp days.

You guys make me feel like I've been hiding all my life, was never into sports at all. Some weight-lifting and bicycling just to keep in shape for work but it wasn't for the joy of it, I had to mentally flog myself to stay with it. Only sport-related injury I ever had was a deep cut to a finger done by the propeller on a radio controlled model airplane. On cold days that finger is the first to get cold.

After the knee surgery at age 40 the doc told me "no running for you". The knee injury came from playing with the dog.

 

[HFWR]

I was mostly a practice dummy; no LeBron here...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Okay, true confessions: I broke all my bones falling on the ice in my driveway a couple of times. Never broke anything on the field or the rink.

The cartilage damage to the knees is another matter...

 

[bbbamI]

For years, I rode horses. Once in a gallop, my body shifted and to the passerby I probably looked like I was doing some fancy trick. I didn't fall off, but every muscle in my body ached for days.

I develped a herniated disc and this malady got worse over the years. I try to convince myself that it was due to other means, but I'm pretty sure it was due to riding. Riding horses was my greatest pleasure...I miss it so much.

 

[Nords]

Riding horses was my greatest pleasure...I miss it so much.

Our kid rode dressage for over three years, and during that time I never met a single ER'd equestrian...

 

[FinanceDude]

Basketball is NOT a straight-line sport, either, and I have a mild knee sprain to prove it.........