That's it, I'm on a mission. How many times do we have to look at the faces of our neighbors and lament about how they should be exercising more? Or, how they should be eating better? Or - if they just lost some weight - how much better they'd feel! Here's a different twist to consider.
What if... they really would love to exercise, but pain is stopping them. "When I walk too far, my back hurts". "When I try to play basketball, my shoulder hurts". It seems, that what starts as pain limited exercise quickly spirals down to weight gain, cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure or high cholesterol (among many, many others), and then the feeling of "I don't even know where to begin". So, get smart and stop putting off today what you think you can do tomorrow. Before you know it, 4 years of hobbling have gone by and you have more than a bad knee to deal with!
A study in Japan found that from the age of 30, your chance of sustaining a rotator cuff injury increases exponentially with each decade. Why? Well, the longer you live the more times you lift your hand above your head. And, between the ages of 40 and 50, tissues like tendons, ligaments and connective tissue become degenerated and fibrotic. And if basketball is your exercise choice, hand above the head.
If this applies to you, you are the perfect candidate for Physical Therapy. Get in for a consult, let the therapist assess the mechanics of your back (or shoulder or knee or whatever limits you) in the activity that you want to do. Tell them that your goal is to get back to your "sport". It may only take a few visits to gain valuable information that will keep you in the game for years to come. Even if you have a $40 copay... prioritize your health. Once you're sidelined, it's the snowball effect of inactivity.
From my perspective - there are very few cases where musculoskeletal pain should limit your exercise.
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