Physical health issues after MX career

I am over 60. Played football through college and have been riding since i was 6. I still ride weekly and starting to do more races as well. I feel somewhat lucky that i had no major injuries in football or riding but have had a few injuries..  My neck is a bit of a mess with pinched nerves and small degree of degenerative discs, bone spurs in both shoulders, bad back (but not too bad) and lots of soft tissue injuries.  I am trying to work out more now with stretching and that has helped.  I see a PT weekly too.  But damn it is hard to give up that feeling of being on the bike - I am not sure you can replace that!!

Recent surgery on my shoulder (added screws), arthritis in my back and knees, screws in my ankle. 
I’m just playing in the desert/woods getting my ass kicked by trees. 

This^. I am 56 and raced mx on & off for 30 years. Now I race scrambles and enduros a few times a year with trail riding on a regular basis. Do I feel aches and pains? Sure. I wasn't free from yard sales and becoming a human lawn dart over the years. Broken left shoulder and a compound break of my right tib/fib back in 1985. (Graduated HS and started my first year of college with a cast. Good times!) The biggest thing is a good exercise regiment, sleep cycle, and diet. I weight train at least 4 times during the work week and try to be active on weekends. At this age it is more important to rest our bodies when tired and stretch/warm-up before strenuous activity. Don't expect to feel great in your 50's if you eat garbage and are out boozing every weekend when you are in your 20's & 30's. It will catch up to you regardless of what you do on the bike. 

I'm 58 and feel pretty good. Got some aches but attitude is everything. Eat good, stretch religiously, exercise and enjoy life.

Quite a few people in my family had knee or hip replacements from the early 50s on up. None rode dirtbike, some active, golf, softball, water & snow skiing. Im also retired military and stil work with a bunch of guys, with knee and hip replacement. All doing pretty good, the guys with shoulder issues, not so much. Im 7 weeks out from my knee, it sucks but gettig better, goal is to keep riding mx and mtb, we'll see how that goes

I had my knee replaced at 44.  It wasn't from motocross though.  I'm slow as shit on a bike.

66yo and 54 of those have been on a dirt bike.  A little MX but mostly enduro and H/S.  Most of my injuries (other than rotator cuffs) have been minor.  No broken bones but I sure tried!   No knee surgeries but sometimes I feel them after a long day of riding.  I can sling my leg over the saddle with no problem; something some others can't say.  Just got off my mountain bike after a hour long ride.  Coach Robb Beam stuff every other day.  Yeah, keep moving.  Don't get me wrong after a 2 hour H/S, all day enduro or trail ride, I'm feeling it for a couple of days.  But you know what? It makes me feel good knowing that I'm still doing this and I smile sometimes.  I ride or race everything from a KTM300 to a 1980 YZ465 to a '84 KDX200 (the last two are for post vintage X/C and MX).  I just bought a Stark Varg and plan on taking up MX for 2024.

I feel lucky.

I have been on my own healing journey for 6-7 years now. I sold my bike, moved to Thailand, bought a float center in a fitness/martial arts destination, and went to work. Over that span, I have learned an unreal amount about the body, mind, and spirit from my interactions with customers, sponsored athletes, and true healers in every sense of the word. I specialize in extending veteran athletes' careers and helping them find fulfillment/purpose post-retirement. Heal to perform.

I could go on for days, as I am extremely passionate about this space and am in the process of launching ventures to provide value and resources to those in need of them, but I'll keep it simple. 

At the human level, the western/modern lifestyle is a recipe for the body/mind to be trapped in a chronic stressed state. T

At the athlete level, this is ramped up even more with the pressure to perform, come back from injury quickly, and maintain a built up image of oneself (an athlete dies twice).

At the motocross level, the adrenaline dumps, trauma, forces, and lifestyle commitment are amplified to a level that are unmatched, except *possibly* sniffed at by pro fighters. The nervous system is WFO in the sympathetic state. 

We are a unique breed. What is therapy for most, comes with a cost. The dose makes the poison.

The machine (body) needs preventative maintenance or it will break down. Prehab and rehab are the same thing, only one is a choice and one is not. Add in poor technique on the bike, a lack of proper prep/diet and an unbalanced lifestyle, and the outcome is inevitable. 

The solution is simple, but not easy, especially if lifestyle and environment stays the same...shifting the nervous system into a parasympathetic state and releasing tension from the body. 

Breathing and movement.

Slowing things down in order to retrain the nervous system that the external world is safe. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

My healing journey is winding down and I am shifting towards performance again. I am about to turn 37 and un-retire in order to race the Thailand motocross series (and now I am inspired to go after Dakar..possibly in the Malle Moto class). I'm not here to talk about it. I am here to show it and be it.

Feel free to hit me up @soulindigo_tristan for all things physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. Nothing is cooler to me than helping someone connect with themselves, stay younger longer, or regain functionality and joy, especially if it results in getting back on a bike. Newsletter and content coming soon.

You can follow along with my racing ventures @raceindigo. 

Keep breathing 

Damn after reading some of these I’m doing pretty good. My knees kinda hurt sometime but I’ve done moto, snowboarding, mountain biking, snowmobiling, wakeboarding and various stick and ball sports and some very labor intensive jobs my whole life and haven’t had to many injuries. The way I see it is I’d rather use my body to my fullest and be fit than be in pain from being morbidly obese like a large number of people in our country. 

Without a crash, I don't think MX affects knees and hips as much as running.  I say this because quite a few fellow athletes here on Vital have stated that after a hip replacement, they can ride MX again after 6 months, but running will destroy the hip replacements.

Pros are a different story.  They're going so fast that the forces must be intense.  The crashes certainly are.

Approaching 64 and running is the only thing that keeps me sane after more than a year of cancer treatment. Started racing when I was 15 and other than a big digger at age 43, nothing worse than ribs and a collarbone fracture. 

I don’t know anybody over the age of 50 that doesn’t have aches and pains every day. It doesn’t matter if you’re athletic or not; it’s just part of the aging process. 

I’m 58 and have ridden MX off and on since I was 11. I’ve broken many bones, shoulder surgeries, knee surgeries, etc. but most of my pain is from arthritis and degenerative discs just from getting old. 

Keep on riding. You’re gonna hurt when you’re an old man whether you like it or not! 

I turn 54 on Monday. Many plates and screws like most of you, are in my possession.

One thing that really helps me are ice baths. They are really rough the first time or two, but they work wonders on your recovery from riding. 

Happy Birthday dude, wishing you a good one and all the best for 24.

Appreciate it brother!

My old man never raced moto, he's 61 now, both shoulders wrecked, back no good and he just had a knee operation.

Sure, moto is risky and can leave you with life long injuries but life is gonna catch up to you anyway, might as well have fun. 

My bday as well. An ice bath will definitely be a present I give myself. Great suggestion bday bro! 

I asked my chiro about that and he says we are nothing compared to older rugby guys!

We’re definitely in a sport that is tough on our bodies….

I raced national mx and enduro for about 10 years or so, and I was pretty lucky with injuries for the most part. I had a tib / fib break just above my ankle at 18 that healed 99% and gives me no issues. I had a tibial plateau fracture about 18 months later that never really improved. I only have about 90 degrees of range in my right knee despite pushing physiotherapy hard for almost a year. It hurts every day, but I just deal with it and work around it - it’s just enough range to comfortably ride mtb with my kids, I rock climb several days a week, and can still run well enough to play the occasional game of footy. Of course, the day after doing any of that is tough and the pain is much worse.

But you just push through. We’re built much tougher than average people. There’s probably some surgery out there to clean up the knee joint and give me an improvement… but it could always make it worse too…

But looking back I wouldn’t change a thing. So many great memories and great friends from racing over the years. Thanks for sharing your stories guys. It’s good to know we’re all struggling together 😂

46 years old and dislocated shoulder for the first time racing at 16 years old and 20 plus years as Electrician and Air Conditioner installation the shoulder has started too ache the last 12 months. 

I'm 59 and both knees will be replaced this year.  They were loose after torn ACL's in both 40 years ago...  But last year, i finally wore out the rest of the cartilage and went bone on bone.  The pain and instability went way up.  Hopefully I get good ones... 

Lower back is a bit compressed from a huge getoff at 15 on the '79 CR250 Red Rocket during a CMC Golden State series race.  Mostly manageable with a visit to the Chiro a couple times a year just to keep me loosened up.

Yep, it's the knees...

Guys, take a look at all of the golfers getting new knees and hips, or have completely wrenched backs. Most any athlete puts a ton of stress on the joints, it's a part of the game! But I look at the people that DON'T participate in sports regularly, and check out their list of surgeries and ailments--train wrecks and couldn't swing a leg over a dirt bike if they tried, let along ride or race it like us! Yeah we pay a price, but look what we get in return!

And this is from someone who feels every cold weather change in my knees and back! I may be jacked up in some areas, but I can still line up on the gate!

34 and have bad knees, hips, and shoulders. Motocross is and was a lot of fun but it does take a toll. Still, ride though it's just to hard to give up. 

I'll be 65 soon didn't race until 30 was in construction for many years carrying a tool belt climbing ladders swinging hammers etc. Now that was hard on the body. Every time I ride I feel better and we have a great crew and we ride hard, 20 minute motos and resting for 20 minutes between. Busted my wrist bad mid 30's and both shoulders are jacked, but once I'm riding I forget that shit. I do not take any pain meds or aspirin but do take a little Kratom, all natural zero side effects. I recommend giving it a try for pain and sleep. Lots of stories here and good ones Keep hammering! 

I don’t think riding is anywhere near as bad on the body as work. Trucking is by far the worst thing you could ever do to your body. It will destroy every part of you. And the millions of lbs of odd freight u lift & drag by hand is worse than any construction job. Ovr 100 nfl players couldn’t do a Sysco job at 1 warehouse.  I started working as a 3 yr old on a farm. Then ovr 1,200 concussions ,etc.  my list of work injuries r probably a higher # than Pastana.  If I had to pick a couple all the disk in my neck r blown out . I know I blew some more out driving this junk. Rebroke my wrist a few weeks ago that I 1st broke in 8-6 & kept working 30+ hr days 7 days a week. Did my good shoulder in on 8-6 . I couldn’t raise it at all. I quit 8-28 after a week I rode & couldn’t raise my arm at all.  Ruptured disk in back the deterioration on the vertebrae, disk & arthritis is worse.  Basically all the joints r destroyed.  And I still rode & not slow on a super slick , square holed hilly track. Wo on a 04 cr125 . I haven’t been passed in 2 yrs.  4+ kinds of epson salt hot hr bath. Save the water & dump ice in it for a morning ice bath. Helps the most. Whirlpool , sauna, pool, & stretching helps.  Injections helps too.  I let the bike do the work only time it’s physical is corners, hard impacts, whoops but not really. Stay loose & flow 

What did your dad do for a living? Any weekend warrior sportsball stuff? 30-40 years of manual work that seems benign can definitely add up. I don't have too many firemen friends that don't have shot shoulders, backs or knees. Our fleet mechanics are just as bad with knees and backs and lots of carpal tunnel syndrome. Almost any construction trade, if a guy stays on a crew will be pretty wrecked. I remember seeing a 50 year old cement finisher. He walked hunched over, or shuffled. He was one of the best but he seemed to be in pain all the time.

My laundry list of serious injuries is quite long and my doctors have told me I’m lucky to still be walking. You just learn how to live with the pain I guess. I really became a more responsible rider/racer my after my knee though. I already had to teach myself how to walk again twice before my knee because of injuries. Once with a broken back and the other with a shattered calcaneus (for anyone else who has broken their heel you know how rough that recovery is) but for whatever reason, my knee injury was one of the most difficult to go through. My recovery time was longer than average (about 2 years before I was fully cleared from the doctor). Stretching is absolutely vital for my day to day health and I cannot recommend it enough. I carry stretching bands and a lacross ball with me basically 24/7 now. It’s mildly inconvenient but it certainly helps with the day to day pain.

Knee and ankle pain. Was having back pain until I got into weightlifting. Really credit deadlifts and squats with keeping me moving and riding. I only really ride Supermoto now though. The impact of mx was getting too much at 36.

Regular rides on the EMTB has been the best thing I’ve done for my hips legs and knees. Some of my trick aftermarket parts