50s and constantly stiff ....

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Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
Paging @Fnaar

No seriously, me and the fragrant (and long suffering) Mrs FF are both *ahem* physically active and generally healthy 50 y/olds, but notice that we also getting increasingly stiff in our bones ... actually, it's muscle stiffness more than anything else. Not just stiff in an non-mobile way, but painfully stiff, sit down or lie down for say 30 mins and it hurts to get going again.
Mrs FF stretches after every class, so she should be OK (stretching post exercise is not one of my strong points).

Is this normal for our advancing middle age?
Do supplements help (we have a very good diet)?
 
Yes!

Basically you lose elasticity which is a completely non-medical description but covers the thrust of it. Stuff wears out too, cartilage thins, tendons become more brittle seemingly and stuff which once you took for granted, lets you down.

Been going through this the last few years and my refusal to acknowledge it has probably led to my first ever long term injury. It took that and an increasing back ache to make me realize that I need to make stretching part of my life now. I even bought a book on stretching and invested in a foam roller, christ they hurt. The good news is; it all works.

I don't think any supplements really help suppleness or joints. Glucosamine is trendy but much of the evidence is anecdotal. Then again, there's no harm in taking them.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I have just started doing tai chi again after a 15 (?) year lay off as i read it was good for my trapped nerves in my neck , it certainly has worked and my neck is not creaking and cracking like it used to.
 

ScotiaLass

Guru
Location
Middle Earth
I have just started doing tai chi again after a 15 (?) year lay off as i read it was good for my trapped nerves in my neck , it certainly has worked and my neck is not creaking and cracking like it used to.
I always wanted to take a Tai Chi class.
I must say that since I've been cycling (and shoulder checking) my neck has loosened considerably (arthritis in neck and spine).
For the OP...glucosamine is only helpful before degeneration of joints, which occurs much earlier than people think!
It's just one of these things that happens but by doing gentle, frequent exercise, you can keep on top of it!
 

Joshua Plumtree

Approaching perfection from a distance.
Know that feeling. Takes 30 mins to warm up by which time you're worn out anyway! :ohmy:

Seriously - and this is my default answer to any health problem! - try a little weightlifting, which is really just another way of stretching the muscles, but with heavy objects on the end of yer arms. :rolleyes:

I've worked the upper body with weights for years and, at 54, I don't suffer any aches and pains in this area! Different story below the waist, it has to be said. ;)
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Hasn't happened to me. Im not stiff in the joints and im 58. I don't think it is Inevitable that this will happen when you get to a certain age. Keep going. Keep mobile, and keep warm In the winter. Have a word with your Dr about whether or not suplements will do you any good. Personally I don't take any.
 

Diggs

Veteran
+1 on stretching (and properly! Not the half hearted wam up of a Sunday footballer) I was always bad at doing this until I went to more (mainly Spin) classes where it was built into the session
 

vickster

Legendary Member
I'm 42 and feel your pain. I only need to think about exercise and I seem to end up with some overuse injury, often ending up chronic!
I am waiting to see if my knee surgeon (a knee injury 5 years ago seems to have been the beginning of the end, having survived a quite major back op at 20) thinks I should see a rheumatologist. It's all affecting mood and sleep and is pi**ing me off! :angry: I'm still bruised and battered and sore after the RTA in mid Feb and I keep whacking the bruised and battered and sore bit which doesn't help!
 

ScotiaLass

Guru
Location
Middle Earth
I'm 42 and feel your pain. I only need to think about exercise and I seem to end up with some overuse injury, often ending up chronic!
I am waiting to see if my knee surgeon (a knee injury 5 years ago seems to have been the beginning of the end, having survived a quite major back op at 20) thinks I should see a rheumatologist. It's all affecting mood and sleep and is pi**ing me off! :angry: I'm still bruised and battered and sore after the RTA in mid Feb and I keep whacking the bruised and battered and sore bit which doesn't help!
:hugs: I know your pain!
 

Peteaud

Veteran
Location
South Somerset
Wear a Livestrong jacket and take loads of drugs. :angel:

Seriously, i am middle aged now and get the odd stiff limb or 3 when standing, i put it down to age and can,t do a lot about it.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I have found it creeping up on me, and that sound you seem to need to make to bend or sit down! I guess it came as a surprise as I remember my grandparents making those noises and I I associate them with old age and I'm definitely not prepared to label myself that way (nearly 48:laugh:). I accept I may be middle aged but not in the way I thought of middle aged people when I was younger.

I'm doing pilates which seems to help. Every session we always bend over and touch our toes near the beginning and end of the session. I can always see a difference in how flexiable I am just after 40 mins of stretching. Or this week, when I went in feeling very stiff, it was noticeable that I couldn't reach my toes at all at the start of the session.
 
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