Is Your Senior Body Paying the Price of Youth?

Must have done something right over the years from childhood to this age of 81. No physical problems now, only real problem about 4 years back was cervical spine collapsed but that wasn't due to anything other than age sneaking up on me.
 

For we bipedal bilateral Earth creatures, there is no better life long natural exercise any of us are able to participate in than regularly walking. Especially if it involves some uphill segments that also engages our respiratory tract and our most important for health lungs. For those urban walkers in this otherwise vehicle dominant world where many will drive even to locations just a couple blocks from their residences, consider developing a habit of walking to various nearby places as long as such does not require carrying around heavy items. One will appreciate getting to know their local streets and neighbors in ways that cannot be otherwise appreciated. Even better is to occasionally hike within one's regional park natural areas at distances of at least one mile. Our remote hunter-gatherer ancestors knew their existence when they became older depended on still being able to walk about as small interdependent groups often needed to move seasonally for adequate food sources.
 
They say that you inherit the body that you built in your youth. I was a non-athletic nerd, and only have a bad wrist suffered when I went flying and landed on it when bowled into during a a gym class basketball game. I also have a faint scar on my forehead suffered when expected to vault over three rolled gym mats and land coming out into a forward roll. I’m not Jackie Chan, so my knee impacted with my forehead and split it open, requiring seven stitches. That phys. ed teacher eventually left…

My two nephews were pushed by their father to play football in school. One suffered a knee injury requiring surgery, and can’t do much physical labor involving walking or standing to this day. The other was knocked out during a game, but forced by the coach to go back into it! In later life he was diagnosed with minimal brain damage due to blackouts.

Too many kids are suffering permanent injuries for a few moments of athletic glory, and are pushed to do ill-advised things…
 
I was an athlete. It was all thing in the fifties to watch TV and see the pros play the sports you could join as a kid. We loved it, and there were a lot of injuries. I saw a kid get all his teeth knocked out by a flying baseball bat. My brother played high school football and is now a drug dependent cripple because of a neck injury. Sports have emerged in our history. They differ from culture to culture. In ancient times they were often deadly. In modern times that thrill of competing compel us to play the game. Whatever it is that draws so many of us to sports, I do think that all that energy and money could be used in much more beneficial ways, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I am especially concerned with high school sports and the coaching the kids receive. I had many coaches and in the '60's it was getting pretty competitive to get into college with a scholarship. I remember only one coach that treated me with kindness, respect, and would talk to me about my decisions. The rest were WIN, WIN, WIN! I quit all organized sports when I was 17.
 
I think it's great for people to do sports if they want to. And sure, teach exercise classes to school children. But I hated being forced to do potentially dangerous things against my will in school, like play baseball and do gymnastics. To this day I don't have the reflexes or perception to do such things safely.
 
My body is thanking me for doing so much in my younger and not so young years. I've never been a couch potato, moving all day long, and since retiring I make sure to walk 2 miles three or four times a week. A bit of arthritis, inherited Gene's, a bad back from cheerleading days in high school, but I'm doing very well. I hope it continues, very healthy.
 

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