just sat daydreaming, thinking about injuries or damage i have recieved by playing sport too long.

if i had known the longterm effect on my body, i think i would possibly have not played at all, or retired a long time sooner.

thoughts?

I think I may have initially injured my back when out riding, and have suffered (at times desperately) since.

But it is also possible that my back was prone to eventual injury anyway, and that if not through cycling, it would have gone bad by some other means.

Consequently, even if it was cycling that did it in, I would not have stayed away.

Other than that, I am not sure I have any injuries the effects of which have been long term. Other than a bionic left clavicle. But that’s just cool.

Heavy impact sports like rugby, boxing etc obviously cause more damage than many previously thought. I’ve seem lots of runners with dodgy knees, again mostly through impact. Although long term injuries are still possible, I reckon cycling must rank as one of the least hurtful activities that still keep you fit.

Depends on the person I guess.
For me, life without sport would be horrific, so no, doubt i’ll ever stop regardless of what injuries come along.

Whereas I just don’t do sport at all 🙂

if i had known the longterm effect on my body, i think i would possibly have not played at all, or retired a long time sooner.

Except you probably did know, you just chose to ignore the risks. I know I did.

That being said the knowledge around the implications of head injuries seems to be getting more worrying for someone who has had a few. No one knew about CTE when I was playing. But common sense states that helmet or not, smacking your head into someone else’s repeatedly seems like a daft thing to do.

Tough balance – I have just lost a v good doctor friend who was a knee surgeon. We used to debate this issue a lot as he argued (tongue-in-cheek admittedly) that he loved seeing runners out on the roads as he knew he had a good supply of future patients. I countered with the question about how many of his patients were over-weight and inactive versus those who were active. Sadly, we never concluded our discussion.

Perhaps a key message is the role of stretching/flexibility and weight control as a preventative measure.

in hindsight, i reckon i would have just cycled, and not played rugby. never had a injury from cycling.

On balance I’m happy with where I am. I’m slightly hampered by the legacy of some injuries (achilles rupture, rotator cuff problem, smashed elbow) but it’s been worth it for all the fun/fitness/health/social etc benefits I’ve had from sport and training for it, all of which has been a massive component of my life.

Would have still done it, great fun and lots of stupidity from rugby etc but in mid forties my shoulder is dodgy, knee aches and first few steps in the morning are quite loud from the cracking noises in my feet.

Probably wouldn’t have spent years running off the hills with heavy rucksacks if I had known what state my knees would be in. Same with dodgy dead hands and the effects they would have on my fingers.

What kind of life would it be to always take the safe option and dismiss everything for fear of injury?

Lots of sailing’s given me terrible finger joint issues. Hurts like **** in the cold. I can still grip well but letting go is the issue.

All my other pain comes from moments of stupidity. Face first (head up) into a maul when I made the uni 1st 15 through luck meant I lost my front two teeth. The replacements hurt in the cold / cold drink etc. Trying to clear 8 steps on my bike lead to a cracked patella. That now hurts at the end of every ride I do.

Shin pain after any walk over a couple of miles due to cycling / sailing.

All worth it.

I wish I’d done more. I only took up running when my CV system was on the slippery slope of decline. I only climbed as a hobbyist and wonder where I’d got to if I’d put more graft in.

I am firmly in the camp of those who regret things they didn’t do rather than things they did.

Nope nothing I should have stopped sooner. Should have worked more on fitness / conditioning. Should have heeded the advice on “not just one more run” etc. Shouod have done a lot more of what I was doing when I was doing it sports wise.

No. My ankles ache from basketball injuries, my knees creak from years of football and running, my fingers are bent from cricket and I have no flexibility from cycling. I fully expect to have an arthritis riddles later life.

But, but, I would not change it in any way. Many of my happiest memories are on a football or a cricket pitch, or on a hill with a bike. The only thing I might change is that I’d have done more and perhaps worked a little harder on the things I was good at.

I reckon my brother curses the day he took up rugby. He’s currently having to take painkillers to get up in the morning following on from a flare up of an old back injury. To go with the chronic aches and pains he’s been living with for decades.

I bet he wishes he’d carried on with the cycling. Only serious long term injury i’ve got was from a crash.

i played rugby from the age of 9 to 40, including 5 years as a professional. the memories and the friendship will last me a lifetime. but i think if i had be a bit more sensible and maybe not gone on for the last 5 years, i may not be in the state i am today.

4 bouts of surgery in the last 7 years has left me feeling a bit drained in my mind as much as my body.

Sport hurts, but the benefits far outweigh the hurt as far as I’m concerned. Playing team sports shaped my character for the better.

I guess I was lucky that I’d always played with low level injuries that caused me to give up earlier (32) than I could have.

My boss has been talking about this recently, he played rugby to a good (amateur) level in his younger years. Now all the injuries he sustained then are building up on him, he is 55 and lost/losing all his natural strength. His doctor has told him to start weight training twice a week as building his muscle mass back up is the best way to to sustain a pain free life with normal movement.

i wish common knowledge of core strength had been available years ago. that would have fixed most of my injuries before they had happened.

Reading the above I’m now thinking I quite US Football at just the right time (ie when I was 23). Playing in the British Senior League with a lot of older guys, who would pop painkillers before games and put a brace on what looked like every joint, told me that playing into my 30s wasn’t the best idea.

At the age of 38, along with cycling (drop bar and MTB) I do spend a lot of time in the gym (4 times a week) and I have found that my body is MUCH happier with more muscle mass on it. Currently a leanish 98kg at 6ft1 and my shoulders (both rotator cuffs have been torn) and knees (generally grumpy) are much much happier.

age 50 and arthritis in old sports injured joints. Had a big toe fusion 6 or 7 years ago, then a neuroma in same foot, now more toe issues. Most of that from a windsurfing/rock interface accident 30 years ago. 3 knee ops, but cycling and swimming help keep the pain at bay..

If I hadn’t played hockey my knees wouldn’t be so ruined, I would’t be losing skin pigment from around the sites of repeated astroturf burns, and I’d be able to see properly with my left eye. But I’d have missed out on so much more.

Cycling is a different one – once I stopped playing hockey it moved from riding a few miles on a Sunday to an all encompassing passion. But that’s left me in the position where – though nothing is certain – the apparent effect of regular, heavy exercise (and potentially genetics) means that I’m now able to do very little exercise at all.

Perhaps a key message is the role of stretching/flexibility and weight control as a preventative measure.

Not really. There is no evidence to show stretching helps with either injury prevention or recovery. Also as a “competitive” runner for the last 30+ years I have seen no evidence of distance runners suffering with any increased incidence of joint pain. Its the old myth about joints wearing out etc. They dont, within reason they adapt to progressive stress as do muscles and organs.

Depends on the person I guess.
For me, life without sport would be horrific, so no, doubt i’ll ever stop regardless of what injuries come along.

More or less how I feel. I’ve had a good run despite a horrendous list of injuries 😯 I’ll keep going until I absolutely can’t 🙁