Joints have gone to s---

cleetus

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I haven't seriously trained in a number of years (5 or so), but I still got in quite a bit of work on the heavy bag over that time.

Now at age 44, my joints have gone to shit. Elbows ache like hell, shoulders are pretty worn (especially bad if I hit the bag more than 2x a week), and although it doesn't "hurt" as much, my range of motion in my hips is fading.

My fault for never icing my joints after training in my 30's, but it definitely caught up to me. What do you guys use to prevent, mitigate, or relieve years of wear and tear?

This should serve as a a warning to you whippersnappers - take care of your body while you are younger, even if you don't think you need it.
 
The most obvious answer is ''go see a health professional''.

Beyond that:
-Fish oil
-Vitamin D
-Sleeping a solid 9 hours every night, with regular cycles (ie sleeping and waking up at the same hours)
-Cold showers (it's hell at first, but you get used to it)
-Stretching (Static BW Squats, Hamstring stretches, Foam Rolling, Tennis/Golf ball therapy)
-Massages (deep tissue)

As far as training is concerned I would steer clear the heavy stuff or things that aggravate your condition, perhaps work on Chin Ups, Dips, Hill Sprints, GHR, Split Squats, ABs work, etc.
 
You also try krill oil although I'm not sure if they are that much better than fish oil.
 
maybe you try some low weight high reps lifting like 3 sets of 20 or more for a while.
maybe even with bands.

daily joint mobility and a little stretching.

don't get frustrated.
 
Buy some new joints. Problem solved
 
welcome to old age.

Get checked by a doctor, preferably and orthopedic that specializes in sports medicine. If everything is "normal wear and tear" like mine.

I take fish oil, vit D, glucosamine daily as well as an anti-inflammatory about a half hour before working out. Try to stay very hydrated and keep away from the excessive caffeine and get plenty of rest. I've also recently been doing yoga as an active recovery, can't say enough good things about it, not to mention seeing hot women in yoga pants bend over in front of you never hurts. Warm up and cool down are now going to be become very important, you know that stuff you probably used to think was a waste of time. Also wearing protective sleeves to keep the joints warm helps too.
 
Glucosamine/Chondroitin
Hyaluronic Acid
Fish Oil
Cissus -- dosage of 5+g (kilo of powder on Amazon)
 
Glucosamine/Chondroitin
Hyaluronic Acid
Fish Oil
Cissus -- dosage of 5+g (kilo of powder on Amazon)

I'm still on the fence regarding cissus. In your experience are there protective properties to it or does it simply blunt joint pain?
 
I haven't seriously trained in a number of years (5 or so), but I still got in quite a bit of work on the heavy bag over that time.

My fault for never icing my joints after training in my 30's, but it definitely caught up to me.
Icing has nothing to do with joint degeneration.

Not seriously training and just banging on the heavy bag a couple of days every week might, though.

maybe you try some low weight high reps lifting like 3 sets of 20 or more for a while.
maybe even with bands.

daily joint mobility and a little stretching.
This.

Type II college supplement
Not this.
Glucosamine/Chondroitin
Hyaluronic Acid
Cissus -- dosage of 5+g (kilo of powder on Amazon)
Not this, either.

No offense, guys.
 
Thanks for the replies. This thread was hidden from me until today (dunno why), so that's why I hadn't responded.

Truth be told, I'd be lying if I said that I get more than 4-5 hrs of unbroken sleep per night. I usually get 3-4. To add to the lack of sleep, my metabolism has definitely gotten worse over the years. While I don't eat as much junk as I used to, the sugar/hfcs laden crap I munch on certainly adds up far more than it did back in my heyday. So in that regard, I'm still pretty much a trainwreck, but compared to many others my age, I "appear" to be doing better.

I think pounding the heavy bag did some physical damage over the years, but it always made feel good mentally. About 2-3 years ago, I started to switch over to a higher rep/moderate weight regimen, but maybe I should adjust that with even lower weight. Funny that one guy brought up yoga, as I thought that was just a sissy girl thing. I tried the P90X version and made it about 30mins before getting bored. I must admit however, that was some REALLY hard stuff.

I'm going to hit up the fish oil to see if that helps my joints some.
 
I'm still on the fence regarding cissus. In your experience are there protective properties to it or does it simply blunt joint pain?

https://examine.com/supplements/cissus-quadrangularis/
http://www.nootropicsinfo.com/metabolism-support/cissus-quadrangularis/

I have gotten good results with it. It is worth a try if other joint supplements have not helped. At worst it will be a good placebo. It's fairly safe from what I have read. This is what I got. It is 29$ for a kilo. Even at 5g it's 200 servings.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0146M9OP4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I doubt you'd get much in the way of protective effects unless you are older and have risks for something like osteoporosis and then proven drugs would likely be more effective.
 
I'm still on the fence regarding cissus. In your experience are there protective properties to it or does it simply blunt joint pain?
I bought some cissus years ago, because @DEVILsSON strongly recommended it at the time.

I felt no difference using it.

Then I looked up all the studies I could find on cissus supplementation for bone/joint/connective tissue issues. I found no good evidence for it (iirc, I mainly came across studies published in unknown journals by Indian authors).

I stopped taking it, and again noticed no difference.

I may still have some of it somewhere on my fridge shelves.







TL;DR: I looked up the relevant literature a few years ago and found no good evidence to recommend cissus for bone/joint/connective tissue issues.
 
I haven't seriously trained in a number of years (5 or so), but I still got in quite a bit of work on the heavy bag over that time.

Now at age 44, my joints have gone to shit. Elbows ache like hell, shoulders are pretty worn (especially bad if I hit the bag more than 2x a week), and although it doesn't "hurt" as much, my range of motion in my hips is fading.

My fault for never icing my joints after training in my 30's, but it definitely caught up to me. What do you guys use to prevent, mitigate, or relieve years of wear and tear?

This should serve as a a warning to you whippersnappers - take care of your body while you are younger, even if you don't think you need it.
Take fermented cod liver oil along with concentrated butter oil to help it absorb along with a gelatin supplement every day. It has allowed me to keep lifting heavy for a number of years. Good luck!
 
It's a ~30$ trial/error for a kilo of cissus powder. If it works great, if it doesn't, you're out 30$. Most places recommend 2-4g, I take 5g. At these dosages you will get a clear idea(over 200-500 servings) if it helps you or not. It's more likely to help with something like tendinitis than cartilage issues(for which you're best using Glucosamine based supplements). Is the implication that if a supplement does not work 100% for everyone then it's junk? It's a gray area supplement due to lack of quality studies.
 
I read red light therapy makes cells create collagen. I wonder if it would help joints too as well as flatchested girls.
 
I read red light therapy makes cells create collagen. I wonder if it would help joints too as well as flatchested girls.

Giving myself titties might make for an interesting time.
 
Man!

When I was 30, I was indestructible too but I'm 48 now and I'm in rough shape. I'm taking care of myself and "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm good once as I ever was."

I take anti-inflammatory for my aches and pains, multi-vitamins and Osteo-Bi-Flex. It's no panacea but it helps.

Oh and get a massage too. Works wonders for me!
 
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