Should I just get used and adapt to aches and pains?

[RikkiTikki]

For context. Super healthy 46 yo female, moderate exercise, health diet, adult child left home, no major life problems - usual grind of work and housework, occasional trip or holiday. Mild changes from creeping up peri - gone up a size to 8 skeletal 6 and feel better for it. Recently changed to mini pill and it has been a massive relief from PMS symptoms, mainly MH.

The problem is I somehow feel in a cycle of injuries, some from exercise, some from god knows where, something constantly hurts and affect exercise routine, sleep quality, drive at work. From sprained hamstring to bad neck to swollen ankle to IT band to meniscus knee. Ibuprofen on stand by but none are achy joints type things that are attributed to hormones. It’s like I got brittle and easily broken after turning 40. Can someone aged 50 plus tell me - is that just what happens, suck it up and ride, or am I just not really as fit as I am? With last two injuries NHS physio told me that there is nothing she can do for me, I am strong in all the right places to blame injuries on muscle weaknesses and it is what is…

I added tom Morrisons mobility training to my exercise. It's made a lot of difference to those little niggles and injuries. Ruddy tough though, your body gets good at compensating and those niggles become ingrained.

The NHS tends to say 'well it's your age' and wash their hands of you.

Maybe make a private appointment with an osteopath and ask them whether they can pinpoint anything. You might have all manner of joints out of alignment which is throwing everything out.

I'm 50 and I would say if you keep getting injured then there is something (or things) that need to be adjusted, looked at, etc. It may be form, it may be that you have a weakness somewhere and are compensating for it elsewhere in your body, but everything is connected. A pain in your neck might be a problem with your back, your hips or somewhere in your legs. Similarly, a recurring leg injury can be due to a weakness in your back or shoulder or that you need new shoes or that your form is poor. What you're describing isn't age-related aches and pains, it's injuries - that's different. You probably need to add strength work to your exercise regime. I would consult a sports physio.

What do you call moderate exercise? Are you doing core strength, resistance, balance and mobility? These are what makes a difference as you age.

Strength training, stop alcohol and sugar and HRT when appropriate. I was so achy at your age but that was a decade ago, have hope! Everything else has gone to shit but I don't ache 😬

I have cut out sugar / sweet stuff and don’t even crave it now. Alcohol - can’t handle now more than a large glass of wine and even that wipes me out the next day, so that will have to go on Fridays too.

Yes, I strength train 3 times a week, run once or twice and spin once a week, stretch after but not like a full yoga session. The bad shoulder neck is after Monday with side leans with 16 kg kettle ball. It didn’t “go”, I just woke up the next day stiff and sore. I did it before, so again not sure if it’s exercise caused or why I have not had a pain free moment since Tue morning.

Got specialist NHS muscular-skeletal clinic appt at last in Dec!

I'm lying here hurting from pulling a muscle, I get it! Unlike you I'm not really fit at all, went to pot in 2020 lockdowns, I'm starting a 4 week physio class (nhs) with other circa 50 year old women this week, fed up with aching after sitting on sofa (oddly no issues with walking long distances)

I either have aches from age, or aches from going to the gym. So I choose to ache from the gym!

@mitogoshigg Best of luck with the class and it will get easier as you do it more!

@DustyLee123 Exactly. That is why I am not taking time off and just working around what I can, even if it’s just a cross trainer for a few days.

You say you are size 8 skeletal 6, not entirely sure what that means but sounds possibly like you are very thin?

maybe try to put on a bit of muscle?

people who are very thin on very restricted diets (not saying you are) can get bad sarcopenia and osteoporosis in their 50s

A glucosamine supplement with turmeric helps with my aches. I’m 56 and had an achy knee after walking or working out at the gym. These supplements are amazing. It comes back if I forget to take it.

Make sure your vitamins are topped up, especially vitamin d, b12 and iron. Our food sources aren't as rich as they used to be.

Another vote for Tom Morrison - I had an ongoing shoulder problem that doesn't give me any issues any more, and my neck is the best it's ever been!

Also though, when I turned 40 and I found myself groaning getting out of bed and having to hobble around for 10 mins until my body worked again, I discovered that I'd somehow gained a milk intolerance - cutting out milk/cream (which had started going right through me) and reducing any other dairy (I can still have a cheese pizza, but I don't eat cheese every day) fixed that, and now I just get out of bed feeling normal again.

I do also take a slew of bits and bobs, but the Simplistic Mobility Method, and cutting down milk made the biggest differences to me.

Another vote here for glucosamine sulphate, needs to be 1500 mg strength. In 2015 I suffered for months with my knee, and the Dr said I had arthritis and I'd have to have an op. This fixed it(together with exercise) and my dd had a similar experience when she had debilitating pain in her hip. Hope you find a solution

I try to low carb to keep my weight under control, but I notice that within a few days of starting my aches and pains disappear and I can be quite sprightly. If I don’t low carb I feel achey and old.
This might not work for you, but thought I’d mention it. I think it’s the cutting out of grains that does it for me.

I was having terrible bone and muscle pain in my legs. Really painful to walk anywhere. Im not a regular gym goer so couldn’t exactly attribute it to over exercise or injury. A blood test showed vitamin D deficiency and pain can be a symptom which I hadn’t realised.

Interesting. I'm 57 and do competitive swimming, so while not slim am v fit and strong. Went through menopause with no problems at 52 but 5 years later the niggling aches and pains which I'd put down to ageing/ menopausal joint pain became unbearable. A weights session or pump class which had previously made me ache for a day started making me ache for WEEKS. A slight overstretch in my stretch class and I'd ache for weeks. I never used to ache after a swim-- or a walk- but I'd be constantly aching. Pains in places that made no sense- feet, shin etc - with no cause. Also poor sleep due to pain.I went to GP for HRT but she said 4 years through meno and with no other meno symptoms (not a single hot flush, no night swears, no mood swings etc etc) it was unlikely to be menopause related.
It's a slow process of blood tests/ physio/ scans & xrays/ referrals but I think I'm heading to a fibromyalgia diagnosis .
It's quite common - esp in women 40s-50s.
Naproxen is helping with pain while tests continue. I've had to give up weights, body pump, even yoga. I still swim ( with less intensity) and do my stretch class as it's very gentle.

I am your age (46) and similar size I guess (vanity size 6 at M&S is too big for me), now XS in pregnancy clothes as I am six months pregnant. Besides SPD which I had in my all pregnancies, I am pain free.

Stretch and do mobility training. Weights and running are great but mobility and proper form are super important. I also don’t lift any weight that I cannot press above my head, standing, which means that my maximum weight for strength training is currently 20 kilos. For me it’s more than enough, I still have visible muscle definition despite pregnancy, I can even see a bit of the side muscles on my belly (front looks like I swallowed a watermelon of course).

If you have time and money I also recommend sport massage, I go once a month covered by the health benefits scheme at work.

Yoga is also helpful, I have been doing Les Mills Body Balance once or twice a week for several years and I noticed that it helps me to stay flexible and keeps all the invisible muscles that are responsible for balance working.

At our age it’s very unlikely to be perfectly balanced and even-sided. I know my pelvis is slightly twisted and there’s nothing I can do about that, after 46 years it’s unlikely to straighten out. What I do is keeping strong core and muscles to compensate for the lack of perfect symmetry. It’s good to be aware of the issues and to be very mindful of proper form when exercising. I used to have hip pain, runner’s knee, shin splints, and IBS from running, all on one side only. All gone thanks to mobility and strength training. The only thing that shows that my pelvis is not perfectly aligned is SPD which I know will be gone once I give birth.

I'm 48 I go to someone monthly who does soft tissue work. If there is a problem brewing it gets nipped in the bud. I know my weakness is my knee and neck. These have been my only injuries. It took 3 appointments to sort my knee after a 13 mile hike that was at too fast of a pace for me and one for my neck. Much quicker than seeing a physio imo. People have mentioned about one problem leading to knock on problems as the body accommodates. I avoid anything like that by having my monthly appointment.

I try to walk daily somewhere with uneven surfaces so I'm not just pounding the pavement and I do one or two yoga or pilates classes each week plus some kettlebell work at home.
This seems to keep me ticking over. I avoid any exercise that are repetitive or jerky. No spinning, step class etc. I'm even a bit suspicious of the rowing machine.
I've seen massive improvement since starting yoga but I go at my own pace and don't push anything.

Diet wise, low carb but not dogmatic and I take magnesium and salt daily. Magnesium is a really important co factor of vitamin D.