Athletes > Injuries > Ending Up Overweight/Unfit ?

Graelwyn75

I have seen quite a few profiles on mfp of former athletes who could no longer exercise due to injuries to joints and needing replacements of knees and such things, and have to wonder if some forms of exercise put such a stress on the body that eventually they can lead to a loss of the very thing they are supposed to be attaining - fitness and health.
It does concern me slightly, given I do a fair amount of exercise,including running.
I mean, there do seem to be a lot of athletes/professionals, who end up overweight as they get older, either due to injury or due to not being able to keep their lifestyle up as they age.

Opinions ?

Graelwyn75

Bump.

1223345

Myself, when I quit smoking I became a daily runner. I couldn't go a day without running. I did over do it and had to stop for a short while. I did maintain by walking however. I think that people get kind of a high off of the activity of their choice. I know I always did. It just feels so good to exhert the body that way and I believe often people ignore their body's distress signals as far as athletic injuries because that would mean taking a break, or maybe they are addicted to the exercise and just can't stop long enough to heal, which can permenantly put them out. I think that we all should pay closer attention to what our bodies say to us. I can't say I am innocent of ignoring mine.

DavPul

Yes, a fair amount of athletic people, including myself suffer injuries and end up overweight. That's because we let our exercise be our weight control instead of our food consumption. After i tore up my knee the first time, all i had to do was stop ordering deep dish pizza twice per week. Kept eating, started gaining.

As for injuries, they happen. Take the necessary precautions but don't let fear of injury prevent you from enjoying the things you love. Enjoy yourself until you physically can't, then take up golf.

zoom2

Yes, a fair amount of athletic people, including myself suffer injuries and end up overweight. That's because we let our exercise be our weight control instead of our food consumption.

BINGO! I broke my wrist in 2 places while mountain biking in late Nov. My orthopod said NO exercise of ANY sort for the 5.5 weeks that I was in a splint or long arm cast. I followed doctor's orders and attacked my diet HARD...and dropped >10#s during those weeks that I was benched.

Here's the thing...a lot of us find that weight loss is 80+% about what we eat. Exercise is simply how we maintain loss and look fit when the clothes are off. I had 25 or so pounds that I needed to lose, but could never do simply with exercise. Being injured forced me to concentrate 100% on what really matter--what I shove in my pie-hole.

I am back to running and biking and have found that my injury was a blessing in disguise--it kick-started my weight loss. I have lost another 5#s with diet and exercise since I got my cast off. I now have only another 12#s until I will be at the weight I want to be at.

An injury doesn't have to = weight gain, even though it often becomes a convenient excuse for us active folks.

slkehl

I have been nursing a knee injury and have continued to lose weight, but only because I've cut my calories way back from what I used to eat when I exercised regularly. If I had continued to eat the way I used to, I'd definitely be gaining. I've had to get back into logging regularly to get used to it.

koridoobah

I can relate. I joined MFP back in Feb of 2012 and I was doing great.... until August when I got hurt at work and tore a disc in my spine. I ended up out of work and in a great deal of pain. I gained all the weight I lost and then some because I wasn't able to be active. It's such a bummer seeing my ticker that reads "0 pounds lost" even though I have been a member of MFP for almost a year. I just got the all clear from my doctor to go back to work and resume my daily activities. Its been a long five months but I am back now.

Graelwyn75

What about those who do damage, though, that permanently prevents them from ever doing anything strenuous again?
As in, permanent damage to joints and the like?
That is one concern of mine, given I run now. That it will result in my succombing earlier to things that might otherwise not have hit me until later in life. I think some exercise, or certain amounts of exercise, can act as a stressor on the body.

zoom2

What about those who do damage, though, that permanently prevents them from ever doing anything strenuous again?
As in, permanent damage to joints and the like?
That is one concern of mine, given I run now. That it will result in my succombing earlier to things that might otherwise not have hit me until later in life. I think some exercise, or certain amounts of exercise, can act as a stressor on the body.

You need a calorie deficit, plain and simple. Personally, I lost weight WAY easier during the years when I was mostly inactive. It's SO much easier to carry a calorie deficit when you have no risk of bonking 5 miles from home. That's one long-*kitten* walk when you are out of fuel.

jenj1313

There are a lot of non-athletes that find themselves in the same situation. It's called life, aging and genes. Sure, trauma can accelerate things, but I wouldn't change anything unless you have symptoms / radiological findings. That's just my opinion, but obviously there are lots of people running who DON'T have those issues. Also, I think people LIKE to blame their issues on their former status as an athlete, but some people are just bound to have those problems based on the genetic playing cards they bring to the table. Unfortunately, your hand is dealt down and you don't know what you've got until you get it.

jenj1313

And, there are LOTS of low impact exercises that can keep your body weight down. I am not one to talk about self-control when it comes to eating, but one of the orthopedic docs I work with tells his patients to practice "push aways" for exercise... in other words, push away from the table, especially if you KNOW you're not burning the calories you used to... you can't eat like you used to and expect to stay the same size.

vjohn04

What about those who do damage, though, that permanently prevents them from ever doing anything strenuous again?
As in, permanent damage to joints and the like?
That is one concern of mine, given I run now. That it will result in my succombing earlier to things that might otherwise not have hit me until later in life. I think some exercise, or certain amounts of exercise, can act as a stressor on the body.

Given the right situation, almost ANY repetitive motion can cause injury. So, I think you may be overreaching here.

But, to answer your question, if you're worried about strenuous activities and motions for your joints I would recommend:
Modifications.

Personally, If there's something that I can't do anymore and I want to do the activity, I always look for ways to modify it so I CAN do it without the added stress that makes it detrimental to my body.

Now, don't get that confused with just making dumb decisions. Example: I KNOW I can never, ever do a snatch or a clean and jerk. If I did, I would certainly end up in the hospital with another surgeon cutting on my back.

If I could give any advice, it's always to listen to your body....It sounds simple, but for us hard headed morons, it's easier said than done sometimes.

ETA: In terms of weight gain, I agree with the other posters.... all about the caloric deficit. I personally, continued to eat as if I were still active, and it spiraled out of control for 10 years--- yo yo dieting all over the place to maintain some sort of balance... lots of fad diets tried to counteract that.

1223345

Another thing I forgot to mention, as far as running, if you can hear your feet clomping on the ground, you are getting too much impact. You should almost float along soundlessly as your feet gently roll from heel to toe. It took me a good year to get good at running without clomping.

3dogsrunning

My friend, who is a doctor, a marathoner and Ironman, talks every year to the group of learn to runners I coach.
He tells of his grandmother and all of those warning him that running hurts your knees etc. while sports medicine is not his specialty, for obvious reasons he has taken a strong interest in it and reviewed the studies and info out there. What he tells them is that there is no difference between long term runners and those who don't in people who develop joint problems. There is even info to suggest that runners are less likely to develop these problems.
The other thing that sticks out to me that he says is being overweight is far harder on your joints than anything else.

I realize this is just his opinion of what info he has taken in bu he is someone who's opinion I trust.

As for me, running injury is the reason I gained weight - when I got hit by a car while doing it.

zoom2

My friend, who is a doctor, a marathoner and Ironman, talks every year to the group of learn to runners I coach.
He tells of his grandmother and all of those warning him that running hurts your knees etc. while sports medicine is not his specialty, for obvious reasons he has taken a strong interest in it and reviewed the studies and info out there. What he tells them is that there is no difference between long term runners and those who don't in people who develop joint problems. There is even info to suggest that runners are less likely to develop these problems.
The other thing that sticks out to me that he says is being overweight is far harder on your joints than anything else.

I realize this is just his opinion of what info he has taken in bu he is someone who's opinion I trust.

He is totally right...joints are damaged by being overweight FAR more than they are from doing what they are supposed to do--move. My knees were forever achey when I was 60#s overweight. Now they never bother me from running.

LorinaLynn

It's a risk I'm willing to take. I know I was far more accident and injury prone as a non-athletic person who never did any formal exercise. In the past, I hurt my knee carrying a dead dog down a flight of steps at work, my back while lifting an obese cat from a bottom kennel at work (weird angle and nothing to grab onto made me twist funny), my wrist carrying an air conditioner, my foot when I dropped a sheet of plywood across it, yadda yadda yadda. And I'll never forget the time I threw out my back cleaning up cat puke. That was embarrassing. "What did you do???" "Hairball injury." :noway:

For the most part, the exercise I do now helps prevent injury, rather than cause it. The increased muscle strength from lifting weights makes my joints more stable. I have better form and grip strength, too, so I won't twist funny when picking up something awkward, and won't drop something after I lift it.

Running... well, I did have a stress fracture from that. But my stress fracture hurt a lot less and healed a lot faster than my dead-dog-knee injury. So I don't run quite as much or as hard as I did prior to my injury. And the improvements running has made to my cardiovascular system has outweighed any risks. Before running, I'd have an asthma attack if I had to walk the dog in cold weather. Now, I can run when it's in the single digits outside without killing my lungs. I'd rather NOT, but I can.

Graelwyn75

What about those who do damage, though, that permanently prevents them from ever doing anything strenuous again?
As in, permanent damage to joints and the like?
That is one concern of mine, given I run now. That it will result in my succombing earlier to things that might otherwise not have hit me until later in life. I think some exercise, or certain amounts of exercise, can act as a stressor on the body.

You need a calorie deficit, plain and simple. Personally, I lost weight WAY easier during the years when I was mostly inactive. It's SO much easier to carry a calorie deficit when you have no risk of bonking 5 miles from home. That's one long-*kitten* walk when you are out of fuel.

I am not talking only about weight loss, since I have never personally been overweight.
I am also referring to fitness and mobility.

DavPul

What about those who do damage, though, that permanently prevents them from ever doing anything strenuous again?
As in, permanent damage to joints and the like?
That is one concern of mine, given I run now. That it will result in my succombing earlier to things that might otherwise not have hit me until later in life. I think some exercise, or certain amounts of exercise, can act as a stressor on the body.

None of us can predict the future. What about those that don't exercise and who's bodies succumb to osteoporosis? Or have back trouble simply because their back is weak from lack of exercise?

If you want to see bad things you will always see bad things. Stop making excuses and start making decisions.

Chieflrg

I'm reaching my mid-40s and played sports my whole life. Played semi pro football until age 33 as well as semi pro baseball currently. So I haven't been exactly been easy on my body. I'm not a small guy 6'3" with an average weight of 230lbs when not working out.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis which makes my joints and hurt/swell 24hrs a day . So I am constantly under watch for joint damage. Exercise helps a lot since I cannot take any meds due to cancer risks(2.5yr survivor), so its something I must balance or my body will shut down and that will lead to more problems. Of course the lighter you are the easier on the knee/foot joints if your running. I use to run 5 miles every other day on treadmill, those days are gone. So I have to either cycle or do high intense training to keep in shape.
One thing you should always pay attention to is pain, if you feel any what so ever...STOP. Find an alternative exercise . Regardless of what exercise you do, find one that gets that heart rate up and one that you feel comfortable with. Low impact ones or ideal if you have back/knee/foot problems.
Good luck!

MizTerry

A lot of times, athletic people, if they become sedentary, all their muscle turns to fat. Unfortunately I've watched it in my own husband as well as myself.

I got a slight herniation in my disc in my back and got bone spurs in my hip a few years ago and got out of my Taekwondo for a few years. Yeah, I should have just bit the bullet and let my body adjust but I didn't and I gained some weight. Picked up some other health issues, and I lost almost half my body weight. Got that resolved. Then I stopped smoking and REALLY gained the weight.

owswixie

Lot of good replies here. I was a competitive swimmer and by 17 had injured my shoulder and knee and had to stop. I did gain weight because later on I had some non-athletic injuries. But the problem was eating like an athlete and living like a couch potato. I am nearly back to where I used to be in life and hope to someday swim again - even if it is just for fun! I think you can overcome a lot of injuries - athletic or not- if you put your mind to it.

ETA - I wanted to add that even with my injured knee being from swimming and running, gaining weight did a lot more damage to it than the miles I used to run on the asphalt.