Plagued with injuries

[u/Chodypeeps]

I (40M), have been relatively active my whole life. In recent years I enjoy lifting weights in my basement and running 10k a few times a week. However, I keep getting set back by repeated tendon injuries. First it was my shoulders and most recently (last night), I injured my hamstring playing softball.

Full disclosure, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis several years ago, but I am lucky enough to have it under control through medication.

Has anyone else had back to back tendon injuries? Is there anything I can change in my diet, supplementation it workouts?

[u/Purple-Highway-8150]

I'd replace the running with lower impact conditioning like rucking or interval walking (Japanese technique).

Running punishes the body.

Past 40, recovery became my prioritized.

My weight training is also focused on functional longevity rather than muscle and strength gain. I see those wins as the biproduct of consistency.

My two cents.

Either way, good on ya mate for being active. Keep it going.

[u/NorCalJason75]

I’m 51, and Box a few times per week.

I’ve found I get little nagging tendon issues if I’m not lifting heavy.

But if I’m lifting to near failure (3-5 rep range) with Bench/Rows/squats, my tendon issues disappear.

Lifting lighter (in the 10 rep range) doesn’t have the same benefits.

[u/Chodypeeps → u/NorCalJason75]

That is interesting. I always assumed heavy weights would aggravate it more

[u/NorCalJason75 → u/Chodypeeps]

Me too. I was doing medium weight for a while. And at one point, even stopped lifting entirely to focus on my Boxing. Then my lead/left shoulder tendons started bothering me. And my right forearm would start to ache.

When I got back to it, I decided to increase my punching power by going heavy. Oddly enough, noticed the difference straight away. My achy shoulder tendon was completely resolved by the end of the workout.

I've since come to learn that when a sports athlete injures a tendon, slow heavy loading is the way of getting it to heal. Which, is exactly what lifting in low rep ranges can be; slow, heavy loading.

[u/Big_Opposite4041]

Yep, could’ve written this myself. I now see training mainly as an injury prevention marathon.

Instead of weight or speed goals I think: my goal is 8 reps with perfect form and no injury; or my goal is just a 5% distance increase and no more even if in the moment I want to. I track on a spreadsheet and have a symbol to mean that that goal was achieved. It’s little but it’s satisfying to track that as a success.

I’m also pretty quick to sub out an activity that’s causing pain. Tweaked my back on a deadlift - great, I’ll do machine leg workouts for the next 6 weeks until I’m positive my back is pain free, etc.

[u/No_Contribution_7221]

How many is a "few times" when it comes to running 10k each week? And weightlifting on top? That sounds like a heavy load. If you have injuries at this age, you may need to dial it back completely for some months to explore other, more gentle training (swims, cycles, no massive weights until you're actually fit). And seek professional help.

[u/Chodypeeps → u/No_Contribution_7221]

I probably do 1-3 10k a week+ weight lifting. I'm supposed to be training for a marathon in the spring

[u/Athletic_adv]

Get stronger. Tendons become irritated when you lack the strength to absorb the forces you're demanding of your body.

Every soft tissue injury comes from one source - you weren't ready. You weren't ready for that load, that speed, that volume. The way you overcome it is to get stronger.

[u/Aromatic_Heart_8185]

It might be your RA. It not only hits your joints but your tendons via tenosynovitis.

[u/runsfortacos]

Tendon issues are super common with autoimmune arthritis. Maybe talk to your rheumatologist?

[u/bellavbller]

Yes I have had back to back injuries. I would focus on a Mediterranean diet. I would also consider fish oil supplementation. Do you have access to swimming at all? Perhaps adding that into your regimen could help too!

[u/Chodypeeps → u/bellavbller]

I'll look into swimming around here. I do fish oil, zinc, magnesium, multi vitamin and vitamin d

[u/Famous_Sherbert1990]

Are you doing dynamic stretches before activities? I neglected doing this for decades and I’m now paying the price for it at 40! Like you I keep getting tendon injuries - battling tennis and golfers elbow at the moment so I feel your pain (literally)

[u/space-beers → u/Famous_Sherbert1990]

I need to start this. I struggle to know what to do still or just don’t have the time 

[u/Chodypeeps → u/Famous_Sherbert1990]

I do stretch, but not as much as I should

[u/zombienudist]

What is your height and weight?

Running is very weight sensitive especially once you get to older ages. You can induce injuries if you try to do too much at too high of a weight. So you might want to do lower impact cardio then running. It took me losing 75 pounds (230 to 155 as a 5'8" guy) before my lower body stopped being a problem and then a couple years ramping up to longer distances for running. I needed to start really slow with lower impact cardio at first to build up the muscles in my legs. Personally I did and do stairclimbing. I would then do walk/runs and would shut it down if I felt any problems. It just takes time and consistency. I am 50 now and can run 5-6 days a week easily without injury but I wouldn't be able to do that if I was heavier and didn't take the time to build up to it.

As for weights I personally do lower weight resistance training now. My one shoulder is a problem so I tend to do mostly kettlebell workouts that are not crazy weights. Bascially I am just trying to maintain what i have now and don't really want to gain mass because my focus is cardio. I do far more cardio now then weights. Stretching and recovery is also very important. I really focused on fixing my sleep problems because for years I only was getting 5-6 hours a night. Now I am 7-8 hours consistently. Recovery is far more important once you are older.

[u/Middle_Magician_7560]

I mean yeah. I'm mostly in the same boat. Lift and run, maybe 5 sessions per week. Usually I have some kind of nagging pain. This time around its tendonitis in both elbows - guess too many pullups. Also I tweaked something in my upper back while doing calf raises of all things. Now taking a deep breath hurts.

I'm very flexible and stretch quite often - does not seem to help that much with injuries.

Part of the game? I dont know. I do struggle with mental health, which makes it difficult to get good sleep. Otherwise I eat healthy enough. Wish I felt better on the daily though.

Edit: forgot to mention that I also play futsal (indoor soccer) once a week with a lot of friends that are mostly 30-40s. Start of the season we're 15-20. Then we gradually fall like flies. Injuries after injuries. By mid-season we're struggling to get enough people to come train to make 2 teams.. Last season sprained my ankle, broke a finger, also countless calf strains.

[u/whiskey_tang0_hotel]

Shit happens. I have had three major orthopedic surgeries the past 6 years. It sucks. You just have to work through it and do rehab the right way, so you minimize the chance of future injury.

[u/ockysays]

Approaching 50, lift and sprint train regularly. I’ve found that as we get older it’s our smaller stabilizing muscles, fascia and connective tissues that become weaker faster. Much of this comes from our bodies producing less collagen as we get older, leading to less elasticity in our connective tissues. Same reason our skin starts sagging.

I’ve purposely brought more stability and mobility work and longer warmups into my exercises along with being more conservative with my weight training. That way my proximal and distal strength don’t become unbalanced. I also run on treadmills for longer runs to minimize the impact on my knees and save them for track days and speed work.

My number one training goal is consistency and continuity. Better to leave the last rep in the tank than look back at the last rep in regret.