Originally Posted by
zandoval
In many ways I truly agree. And yep, I used to think that.
I am somewhat more educated now days. There is a thing called normal wear and tear. As you age those ligaments and tendons get more stiff and often lengthen. Then that Distal End of the Femur starts to ride forward over the Periosteial layer of the Tibial Head. This is the mechanics of walking down. No way out of it. Cycling can strengthen those tendons and ligaments and preserve positioning in the knee, there by limiting the Walking Down symptoms. Some times this walking down pain can be so bad that people will turn around and walk down backwards, Ha.
I will stand behind your statement though. Use it or loose it... Yep...
Agreed. Use it or lose it. That deterioration is avoidable. My wife and I still do 10-day backpacks in the Cascades, pain free, not counting being sore!. Neither of us is actually "athletic." We just work hard at it. This year I'll be 81 for our backpack. The only issue is conditioning. Everything works, we just get tired sooner because it's harder to get into and maintain fitness. A week off and it's gone. It's just strength work and conditioning. Never give up. That said, once it's gotten that far, it's probably too late. There was a way out of it.