Getting old is a mother fucker! Running hurts. That is a fact. I am in the same boat and have tried shoe configurations for minimizing shock, cushioning, etc. The problem remains that the older I get, the more my joints hurt. I have just learned to accept the pain and deal with it.
If you run in the morning, the joint pain screws up your day. I have had to change to running in the evening, then just relaxing afterwards so my schedule is less compromised by painful joints, muscles, etc. If I am too sore, I just walk the next day instead of running.
Something else that helps is one of those electronic TENS machines. My father-in-law had two knee replacements last year (at 81 years old) when he blew out his knee playing soccer (I hope I can have his energy at 81). The physical therapist had a TENS for the therapy and showed me how to use it for sore muscles and joints. It is a bear to use, but it does work.
Hey Gutshot, I am going through the same thing now. I’m going through LE academy at 43 and I have some significant Arthritis in my Knees. Popping NSAIDS was not helping at all. So one day I come across this Diet called Arthritis interrupted. It basically helps you know which foods to eat and not eat to keep inflammation in your body to a minimum. I tried it for about a month and have lost about 15 lbs and my knees and joints feel a lot better! Got off of it this weekend and ate a lot of sugar and stuff and my joints hurt and I feel like crap. So Monday morning I’m back at it. I think if you Google Arthritis Interrupted you should find it. It works! Also +1 to finding the right shoes, stretching and starting slow. I also do very little actual running. I do 95% of my Cardio on an Elliptical and I’m beating almost everybody in my class on runs.
Burns more calories? I don’t know about that. I thought rowing, then running, then cycling, then swimming for calorie burn. If I remember the data correctly.
I spend a lot of time travelling for work, so a bicycle isn’t practical daily exercise. Running shoes and shorts are easy to carry when on the road.
My whole point is to accept the pain. Embrace it. Running hurts. Avoiding the pain makes it easy to quit and get back on the couch and not realize your goals. It’s not painful eating the doughnut but it hurts like hell to burn it off. There’s a lesson there.
There is a difference, though, between pain from age and damage done by bad technique.
Isn’t it a cause for ball cancer from too much time on a bike seat? Or is it from too much time in pink spandex?:eek:
(I am joking. Do what you do as long as you do something!)
While there is certainly danger in overdoing running for potential damage on your joints, there is also some evidence that it will also increase bone density preventing problems associated with age.
Sure, so does total hip. Ask Floyd Landis about that.
Actually from my father-in-law’s experience, total knee was not such a big deal. He had both done last year and was playing soccer yesterday afternoon with my friends. He’s now 82 and runs 3 or 4 miles a day, four days a week. Before the total knee, he ran six days a week. I realize that he is a tough old bastard who has been active his whole life and this is not typical. Most of the old people we saw when we went to the doctor for this were nearly bedridden and their “recovery” took the better part of a year.
Rather than running, try a long 30lbs ruck over rough terrain.
I did land nav yesterday in full battle rattle. I got the crappiest lane because all my points were easily 1.1K apart.
Bet your ass it was hard work. The whole affair was timed, so you are moving with a purpose. It was exhausting, and much harder work than a run, but today my knees feel fresh. No aches, no soreness.
My glutes, and quads have a slight ache, but the knees are fine, and the workout was gold.
Yeh, true about taking the bike along when on the road traveling.
As to calories, the data out of Edward Coyle’s lab is that cycling at 15 mph burns 31 calories per mile. Running burns 110 calories per mile. So, biking 20 miles at 15 mph burns the same 620 calories (takes 1 hour 20 minutes) as running 5.6 miles, which would take 1 hour 7 minutes (if you’re doing 12 minute miles). This assumes that that person is in good enough shape to run 5.6 miles at all, is capable of doing so at 12 minutes/mile, has the knees/hips/ankles/feet to do so, and doesn’t care whether or not that those joints will last him into his 50’s / 60’s.
I’m not a doctor, but I played high school football in Texas.
I don’t do any of this now that I’m not playing anymore, but we were expected to play hurt(somehow that’s different from injured.) Celebrex was freaking amazing. I strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Shy of prescription medication, I noticed tangible benefits from cayenne pepper supplements. Capsaicin is accepted as a legitimate topical, but I’m referring to the orally ingested capsules of it. Try it, and after a week or two of taking a daily dose I think you’ll notice that it’s both anti-inflammatory and reduces pain.
Whoever said total knees aren’t that bad, is exactly right. Orthopedic surgeons have all but perfected it. The downside is, they only last 15 years if your lucky. Another great drug is Mobic if you talk to someone who will prescribe you some.
Another potential solution to consider, if the previous recommendations aren’t successful, is being evaluated for custom orthotics.
I developed severe knee pain when running and backpacking. I tried different COTS shoe/boot inserts and over-the-counter remedies. I have also tried every prescription med that has been mentioned in this thread and many more. None brought relief for me.
But after trying orthotics my pain almost is completely relieved. If you choose to go this route, get evaluated by a podiatrist /certified pedorthist. Get the orthotics made somewhere conveniently located if possible (to more easily get them modified/adjusted if needed). They’re pricey - I pay $200-$250 a set for my orthotics, but it’s less than the cost of the prescriptions that weren’t working for me.
Celebrex is a COX-2 inhibitor. There can be serious adverse side effects. Vioxx was pulled off of the market a while back because of concerns about its’ role in some heart attacks.
And? It’s effective. Being sedentary because of painful joints is probably responsible for far more heart disease and early death every month(week? day?) than either medication has caused totally.
