I attribute aches to age

[street]

I certainly have more aches and pains at 62 than I did in my 50's. But not complaining as I can still golf and bike. A neighbor who is 3 years older has had knee and hip replacement surgeries. Two days ago had rotator cuff surgery. Nope......I'm not complaining.

Exactly! I feel very fortunate also and not complaining one little bit. lol

 

[Chuckanut]

One thing I have found is that doing things in the gym is not the same as doing things i real life. I can ride their spin bikes 5x a week, but get me out on my new bike and suddenly some muscles are complaining. Spinning and actually riding a bike on a road or trail apparently do use some muscles differently.

Same with a treadmill and hiking. I can walk the treadmill very often, but get out on a mountain trail and different muscles complain.

Not that the spin bikes and treadmills are not good. They just aren't the same as real life. My 2¢.

 

[Music Lover]

Your hiking doesn't prepare your frame or muscles for lots of upper body work that you describe. And since this is a job, you won't have the luxury or waiting a few days to rest those worn out muscles ready for next time. So your recovery will not be ideal. Rest on your day off and it should get easier. And next year if you go back, incorporate some exercises that work the whole body into your regular routine at least a month before you resume work. (not a bad idea to have a bit of that all the time tbh).

You nailed it. Hiking and "active" living will not prepare someone for a physical job. Walking for 3 or 4 hours is entirely different than pushing a wheelbarrow for a day, or digging holes for half a day, or shoveling 20 yards of gravel....and then doing it all again the very next day.

 

[imoldernu]

No aches or pains to complain about. Just lucky. Have never run, and walk like a duck, so biking has been the "exercise" choice. Beginning to get a little more of a challenge, so don't do hills, and stay away from heavy traffic. With 43 miles of roads at Woodhaven, and virtually no traffic, a perfect way to keep the muscles stretched out without risking life and limb. Hmmm... that said, maybe I should do that.

 

[street]

imoldernu >>> you are doing well! I wouldn't start or stop what you are doing now.

 

[Tractor guy]

I'm 65 and more sedentary than I should be. This time of year, I start getting outside more, do more walking and more yard work. For the first month, it hurts to get up in the morning. Every year is a little bit harder.

I've found that stretching is a lot more important than it used to be for me. I get a little less flexible every year and lot of what I thought was joint pain is tight tendons. My spouse has dragged me to yoga classes twice a week and that makes a big difference for my lower back, hips and knees. I've found that if I do a thorough routine of stretching at least twice a week, the pain gets much less.

I've also found that you've got to watch the side affects of any medications you might be taking regularly. My doctor did have me on a daily statin because my cholesterol numbers were a little high. I mentioned at my yearly physical that my joints were sore in the morning (which I attributed to old age) and was surprised when he told me that this was a known side affect of statins. After trying a couple of different ones, I finally got him to take me off of them altogether and my pains got much better.

 

[HadEnuff]

I'm 65 and more sedentary than I should be. This time of year, I start getting outside more, do more walking and more yard work. For the first month, it hurts to get up in the morning. Every year is a little bit harder.

I've found that stretching is a lot more important than it used to be for me. I get a little less flexible every year and lot of what I thought was joint pain is tight tendons. My spouse has dragged me to yoga classes twice a week and that makes a big difference for my lower back, hips and knees. I've found that if I do a thorough routine of stretching at least twice a week, the pain gets much less.

I've also found that you've got to watch the side affects of any medications you might be taking regularly. My doctor did have me on a daily statin because my cholesterol numbers were a little high. I mentioned at my yearly physical that my joints were sore in the morning (which I attributed to old age) and was surprised when he told me that this was a known side affect of statins. After trying a couple of different ones, I finally got him to take me off of them altogether and my pains got much better.

excellent point about the statins! I've known several people who have had your experience.
I am not a physician, but I really question the validity of using them to adjust cholesterol numbers that are "a little high".

 

[street]

Very good point about statins. My mother was on them for many years and that was the side affect and can cause permanent damage to muscle and joints. That is what I have been told and read. I'm not on any but my Doc. wanted me to go on them and mine is just a little high. He did leave it up to me but I feel the side affects would be more harm then good. That is my thinking but not sure if that is correct or not.

 

[Nemo2]

Thankfully I'm not on any meds, since it appears, with many of them, that the side effects (almost) outweigh whatever benefits are obtained.

 

[MRG]

excellent point about the statins! I've known several people who have had your experience.
I am not a physician, but I really question the validity of using them to adjust cholesterol numbers that are "a little high".

I had a cardiologist tell me I needed to be on one cause my numbers were a little off. I agreed to talk to my PCP. His response was 'I'll write you a script, but I wouldn't take a statin with the numbers you have".

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

you hike 100's of miles

you wrote you hike hundreds of miles, hahahahah, its not age, its the hard work, i joined the army at 17, i was in great shape. the first few weeks i was in agony, i think your fine its just a exhausting hard job you have, glad you love it, enjoy ur summer job,

 

[mickeyd]

I've had a sore right leg for 3 months. I must be old or gettin' there.

 

[Lsbcal]

I'm a big believer in phasing into any new activity. That includes boosting the activity to a higher level. One does not want to get an "over use" injury and then have to stop entirely or end up requiring some medical procedure.

 

[ls99]

IIRC George Burns had a saying: If I wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, I must be dead.

 

[W2R]

IIRC George Burns had a saying: If I wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, I must be dead.

Frank and I think it is hilarious that our "aches and pains of aging" are proceeding at about the exact same pace. When we stand up after sitting for a long time, for example, we both make the same faces and stand there for the same amount of time before we feel we can start to walk.

But gosh, even with the aches and pains, life is so much better in our sixties than it ever has been before, for both of us. My heart goes out to those who are both old and poor, and have to work in their old age whether they want to or not.

 

[braumeister]

He did leave it up to me but I feel the side affects would be more harm then good. That is my thinking but not sure if that is correct or not.

I had a cardiologist tell me I needed to be on one cause my numbers were a little off. I agreed to talk to my PCP. His response was 'I'll write you a script, but I wouldn't take a statin with the numbers you have".

The pros and cons of statins have been discussed many times in this forum. If you do a bit of searching you can find every possible opinion from every possible source, both good and bad.

I don't want to get that argument going again, but I would urge anyone confused about it to do some research.