Physical health issues after MX career

I had a groin injury a few years ago, after the x-rays the doc said “you’ve got a very arthritic hip- you’re going to have trouble with that later”

the result of a broken femur when I was 19. 
stuck throttle on a KX250! 

No matter how much you baby yourself you going to get old and everything will hurt 
Im not sure if it was all the dirt bike riding or construction work in my case but im still getting around 
best advise is to get on a good gym program and eat a vegetable 
MX is way to much fun to just sit on the sidelines 

Im 38. 28 years of it off n on. My backs screwed. Vertebra compressed. Chiro told me in my 20s my back looked 55. Can't imagine now. Already had carpal tunnel surgery. Next is ulna probably. Knees suck. Its gonna be a long one. Lol

100 pages. Motocross is Fun !  

Knee's definitely seem to be the big one.

Me personally, I've had a few big concussions that have no doubt had some effect but not that you can really measure, and a slightly achey left shoulder. So not too bad for 15+ years.

I think the main thing is to keep fit, keep your joints strong, do not ignore your flexibility (think bend, not break) and always wear as much high quality protective kit as you comfortably can. Also ride with good technique, dabbing feet is a quick way to cause damage.

My back will never be the same And knee's start to hurt, i'm 27 haha

Mx is very high impact, all other training or exercise should be low impact, like swim, cycling ect. Plenty of stretching, proper hydration and diet. Let injuries heal, this is tough as we all try to come back to soon. Stay away from pain killers. I”m 56, been racing and riding since 18 years old. When you stop everything physical , the pain gets worse. Golf is not a sport. 

I have already accepted, at 42, I will need new knees and I was just "diagnosed" with arthritis in my hands and knees. Between jumping out of planes, deployments, MX, and sports, I know I'll be half plastic by the time I am 60. 

Right leg a inch shorter than left due to a broken femur. Sore shoulder joints, bad right knee, finger joints worn out and I live with chronic back pain. A result of 25 yrs racing.

I'd do it all over again if I could. No regrets.

Even if you were to never crash, moto is very hard on things like knees, shoulders, etc. That’s at the weekend warrior level…I can’t imagine the wear and tear a pro sees. In addition, most of the pros are riding with some sort of strain/injury all season, we just don’t hear about it. They’re expected to ride through injuries that would sideline us.

Every time I go to see my orthopedic doctor I am the only one there that raced or rode a dirt bike and there were plenty of NASCAR racers in their waiting room video.

It’s not the sport it’s the body that sucks!

Man, getting old blows.  As a 40-somthing, everything hurts but I still play ride and teach my sons currently on 110s (and its a BLAST).  But even with the pain, I can do all I need to inshore, offshore and surf fish.  And believe it or not, for me, the satisfaction is dam close moto.    My .02

Don't stop moving (daily exercise), do yoga a few times a week and buy a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. You're welcome. 

Think about getting a hyperbaric chamber, Show us your setup…

Life is rough on the body. None of these health issues are exclusive to moto. After 40, your body doesnt recover anymore like it used too. I send more time exercising for rehab than exercising for vanity. 

Compound right tib-fib from the crash in my profile pic in 1995 still have the rod in my tibia, a little shorter on that leg, left tib-fib with in 1987, screw in that one, both of those injuries do not bother me at 51 years old now, its the knee I blew out wakeboarding that did me in, knee replacement is on the horizon.  

Even after a severely broken back, shattered feet, rotator tears, collarbones, hands broken couple of times etc etc I had no issues at early 40s but then it came hard. My neck hurts the worse. When I had back surgery the doc said that the work they did down low will soon affect my neck later in life. I thought nothing of it because my neck felt fine but now it feels horrible and almost like disc's are loose. My dad has had knee problems forever and replaced etc. My knees are OK so far.  I doubted but full believer now. King of the mountain on the roof was a regular game as kids and wakeboard floaters into the mangroves daily probably has a lot to do with it.  I played real hard and raced 30 plus years and some times raced 6 motos a week. I did 72 motos in 12 weeks the last series i raced. Body is used up pretty well. 

I’m turning 62 in a couple of months, the only things that does not hurt are my elbows. In saying that the worst problems are in my back, left shoulder, ankles and left knee. My advise to anyone that rides is listen to your doctor and let things heal up properly. Now if you are racing for a living you have to be more aggressive in your recovery. 

65, tons of moto laps, never wore knee braces, weekly run a 5k and mt bike.

activity is better than sitting around.

I always kind of thought of it this way, and I'll grant that I've been very fortunate with injuries. We can do the things we love that keep us active and happy. Or we can live as most of our non-riding and non-active friends do. We all have health issues as we age, we can complain about our knees and back because we were out riding, or complain about them because we sat in our ass all day watching football, drinking beer, and stuffing your face with chili cheese fries and are now packing a couple of hundred extra lbs with no muscles to support. And they have a higher incidence of heart disease and diabetes to go on top of that.

Check out "Thekneesovertoesguy" on Youtube

It's been my experience that controlling inflammation is the key to a more pain free life.  

Someone above mentioned pain killers and to avoid them. 

He is Absolutely 100% correct. They help directly after surgery but if you can suck the recovery up without pain medication then SUCK IT up cold turkey.

I'm saying this because I have a pain med problem. I live on them. I have been on and off them for roughly 18 yrs.

When I was wrenching in the USA in 2019 I was having Codeine sent over to Copiague in NY. That's how dependent I am on them tabs. My pain is real.

It is hard as I am aware of the dangers of pain killers. Sadly I'm inbetween a rock and a hard spot dealing with chronic back pain. Often I struggle to fall asleep and it leaves me drained for the next days work.

I joined a gym two weeks back which has a indoor Olympic size pool. I've started to do lengths...but it is hard trying to squeeze the gym time in my day. I have taken a loan from the bank to pay for a scooter which will free up time commuting to work by car. Normally I'd leave home at 05h45 to avoid traffic and I start work at 08h00. Now I can wake up at 06h00, hit the gym for a hour and jump on the scooter and get to work at 07h30.

Without doubt the exercise will help me and somehow I need to ween myself off the tablets.

I never took any tabs this whole December but I suffered tremendous discomfort when trying to sleep. Fortunately I was on holiday for close on a month (Started work today) and could catch up on Zzzz during the day.

Please don't go there (the tabs) my friends....i Know some of you here personally and I consider all here as friends and I really care for each and everyone of you. The chance of becoming dependent on them are very high. They are designed to suck you in.

Take care you all

My battle continues.....

The kids used to tell me, by the time I need new knees they'll be growing spare legs and I'll just get a new set.

I think they think it's like replacing a worn out chain. We'll see if they're right. I'm not holding my breath.

TM

My chiropractor told me motocross guys almost always have the worst backs he sees. Surprisingly mine isn’t too bad. 

Talk to Bearuno or others here about knees, or my old man (my Dad, for people who have different colloquial meanings haha), knee stuff is gnarly for sure.

I've got a bone graft in my hip joint and socket which has pissed me off everyday for a couple decades, but what can you do... Football, running, fighting, cycling, crossing the street, you can run yourself into the ground doing anything, doing nothing is just as dangerous and nowhere near as much fun 🙂

Both hands? I'm 40 both of my hands have been killing me

Yes, both hands. I've already had surgery on my left hand to alleviate trigger finger release. Now it's time for the right hand. Ontop of that, yes, I have arthritis in my finger joints. I blame the Army and years of holding a rifle day in and day out from my previous job. lol 

I have degenerative arthritis in my lower back, broken several bones, had two knee surgeries, dislocated shoulder, and had a hip replacement, but I have zero issues. 
 

 I think I have a combination of good genetics, an exercise program, and a good diet.  The best thing for bad joints is strong muscles around them  

Actually a relief to hear other people having the same aches an pains lol wtf, I'm try to keep moving and working out as much as possible, after a workout I hit the sauna at the gym for like 20min have to drink a ton of water but it does set you up for a day of relief from pain