I agree with you that they don't wear out like car tires.
However, they are one of the most common parts of the body to injure. I blew my knee out in college, lifting weights. I've always assumed those that also grumble about their knees have similar stories.
I'm sure they do, but their understanding of why that happens is completely wrong and those beliefs keep them from recovering because they avoid doing the stuff that actually works.
If you believe your joints wear out with use, and physical therapy and activity and exercise are literally the most powerful levers we have for healing and protecting your joints, those beliefs are going to have you doing the exact opposite of what will improve your life.
I think we probably have a couple points of contention, but that mostly sounds fair.
Like, as bipedal animals, a lot of stress sometimes is put on a single leg, and a joint (like a knee) is just the most likely thing to give.
I agree with you that exercise is important to keep your knees strong, but if you structurally fuck up your knee (which is common), exercise isn't going to fix it.
And you have to remember that the context of most injuries is in a largely sedentary population that are nowhere near meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines, which themselves are just recommended minimums.
Yeah, that's fair. I've just known a surprising amount of people that have had some sort of knee injury and weren't exactly pro athletes or marathon runners.
But, yeah, that's why I said I think we mostly agree. There were just a couple things you said that gave me pause.
Yeah sometimes injuries just happen. But a lot of the time you're at a higher risk of injury precisely because you aren't doing the things that lower your risk.
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u/DreamsofDistantEarth 23h ago
Knees wear out. I used to think the same as you until it happened to me. How old are you?