Athletic performance in your 40s?

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

Do you want/need to keep throwing BP? If yes, then go get imaging and work with your ortho to gameplan a PT option and possibly a surgical option if there are significant structural issues. If you are realistically done throwing BP other than the odd weekend your kid cant find a buddy to go hit with, then you need to ask yourself if the pain and time of PT/surgery is really worth it. If you can do everything at full capacity except throw, and you dont really need to throw much anymore, then is the shoulder really a problem? By the same token, is there some structural issue or degeneration that is likely to get worse without surgical or PT intervention? you probably want to intervene.

TLDR: Its best to get imaging and KNOW what is going on in there so that you can make a gameplan. Get professional help.

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That’s the thing. At this point my bp days are pretty much over. My kid enters high school in a year and my pitch speed isn’t enough to be helpful anyway. An L screen and soft toss is pretty much the same as my fastball. It’s just weird to me that I never feel anything unless I’m throwing a baseball. I’m guessing years of poor mechanics and/or overuse just gets things inflamed. I’ll probably make time to go in just to make sure there’s nothing too funky going on though.

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Originally Posted by alias_rice

That’s the thing. At this point my bp days are pretty much over. My kid enters high school in a year and my pitch speed isn’t enough to be helpful anyway. An L screen and soft toss is pretty much the same as my fastball. It’s just weird to me that I never feel anything unless I’m throwing a baseball. I’m guessing years of poor mechanics and/or overuse just gets things inflamed. I’ll probably make time to go in just to make sure there’s nothing too funky going on though.

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FWIW, i have a 3.5 yr old who i am hoping loves baseball, and im hoping to throw a few hundred thousand BP balls to him over the next 10-12 years. I got a fairly major reconstruction of my shoulder this past fall because not only could i not throw AT ALL, but i was in pain constantly and it was severly affecting my daily life. The repair that was done has a limited lifespan so the plan is the get back into throwing with my kid and progress as he progresses. I played in college and on the local semipro team on the right side of the infield. I had an arm. In the last few years though, my outlook had to change from wanting to throw lasers 120ft, to now im just hoping to wring out of my repaired shoulder what i can to support my kid. I dont need my arm to be even 75% of what it was...50% will do just fine. i just want to be able to throw ~150' onehopped (long) toss, and throw 50-60 BP balls from 30ft a few times per week. If i can manage that from age 5-15, i will be VERY happy with the surgery.

It sounds like to me, it was a job well done by your arm. Tip of the cap for a good career. Time to retire it, there isnt any need to fix it to get back to throwing well again... unless you plan to play softball? The next time youll need a throwing arm is for a grandkid. If your shoulder doesnt limit you in anyway other than throwing, then i would think long and hard about if a surgery is worth it- surgery comes with its own risks from general health, to scar tissue buildup, long painful recoveries, and no garauntee things will be improved. Regardless, i would still reccomend going in to get some imaging done so your healthcare team can see if there is a clear and obvious issue, and maybe there is a simple straightforward fix? Sounds like your arm spent decades throwing... IDK anyone ever who spent decades doing a repetitive highstress sport, even with flawless mechanics and developed musculature (tennis, golf, baseball) who doesnt have some kind of degeneration going on.

There are a TON of resources on Youtube for throwing. Starting with something like the throwers 10 would be a great start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THs_MzojVYUIf you need to see an Ortho, don't hesitate to find someone who has baseball experience: Dr. Elatrache in LA, Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas, etc. I had a UCL repair at 17, its been a bit of a balancing act keeping my elbow/shoulder happy into my almost 40's.

Two world class athletes in their 40s. One making a comeback, the other discovering she's one of America's best free divers:

At 45, Venus Williams will be the oldest player in the U.S. Open in decades:
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/g-s1-...-oldest-player

Sara Burnett, 41, went from an introductory course to a world championship in just over a year:
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-en...tt-free-diver/

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Originally Posted by MultiVerse

Two world class athletes in their 40s. One making a comeback, the other discovering she's one of America's best free divers: At 45, Venus Williams will be the oldest player in the U.S. Open in decades: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/g-s1-...-oldest-player Sara Burnett, 41, went from an introductory course to a world championship in just over a year: https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-en...tt-free-diver/

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Not to mention good ol' Lindsey Vonn and her comeback.

And another one: Mary T. Meagher who set the world record in the 200 butterfly in 1981 that stood for 19 years just broke the world record in that event in the 60-64 age group a few days ago: https://swimswam.com/mary-t-meagher-...200-butterfly/

Sounds like she's really just getting back into competition again. If she keeps at it I'll bet she can shave a few more seconds off the record.

* Another one, but well over 40s I should have mentioned!

Ya this thread prob needs an sixty version now lol

Chris Sharma is considering the 2028 Olympics - that would put him at 47.

https://www.climbing.com/culture-cli...2028-olympics/

Climbing uses more slow twitch than fast twitch, so not a bad sport to grow old in.

I don't disagree that climbing is a good sport to grow old doing, but .... Olympic climbing is quite different than typical rock climbing and bouldering. Speed climbing definitely uses more fast twitch than slow twitch muscles, and even the bouldering and lead climbing event is timed. Adam Ondra took sixth in bouldering/lead climbing and he has put up some of the hardest climbs and bouldering routes in the world.

The American climbing team is really strong. I have my doubts Sharma will qualify, despite his greatness.

The fastest climbers still turn over at a pace I could run on level ground. Still slow twitch. Dyno moves take power though, so fast twitch. Whether Sharma can qualify--I don't know. I don't follow the sport which is about as far from climbing as I know it as basketball is.

Anyway, the first thing to go in climbing is the nerves, not really an issue in Olympic style climbing.

Anybody taking turmeric (or the extract) as an anti inflammatory on a daily basis? I have not read the science, only the summary stuff like the link below.

I have been experiencing arthritis-like discomfort in multiple fingers. It comes and goes and has been an issue that I have dealt with for years. Hand therapy has occasionally helped when it’s affected my thumbs. My current issue sometimes inhibits me from holding things tight with the affected fingers, like handlebars and many tools. Usually it’s not a huge problem because I can hold on enough with the other fingers in my hands. There have been times where I can’t use an impact-oriented tool, like a hammer, w/o pain… but, currently, I can stretch/manipulate the joints (up and downstream) on the finger, the discomfort goes away, and I’m able to use the impact tools immediately after w/o pain.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...t%20properties.

Yeah, I try to incorporate tumeric into my diet frequently. Ideally you should try to add all the anti inflammatory foods to your diet. I eat blueberries and nuts daily. I eat fish frequently, etc. Avoid shit processed food as much as possible. No soda or crap like that.

Yeah. I’m doing all that stuff diet-wise. Eating a lot of fruits and veggies mostly obtained through our CSA orders. Big nut fan. Im on a sardine kick. I’m considering adding daily turmeric supplements.

My hand issue is a head scratcher. Two of my kids have informal diagnoses of hyper mobility. Unclear if I have similar. I had some hand therapy for a thumb two years ago and was not showing improvement over a few months. I ended therapy, had a custom brace to wear under my ski (and work) gloves (it hurt bad to do things like install bamboo at the ski hill), and contact info for a good surgeon to call after the ski season ended. Then, in the midst of the ski season, the pain and discomfort in the thumb vanished and has not returned. Currently, I’m having random issues with a middle finger and a pointer finger.

Yeah, idk. I did take tumeric supplements for a bit, but I was just thinking more preventative for my knees at that time. I'm not sure what if anything it did to help. But again, I think it a complete diet that will do the most good.
Hope you find relief with your situation.

I took daily turmeric supplements fir a long time. I now have an enlarged, fatty liver. I dont think that's what caused it necessarily, but turmeric supplements have come under scrutiny lately for liver issues. I eat it in foods when I want some. The liver situation probably definitely a result of being obese. I dont even have a good story of being a drunk to blame it on.

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Originally Posted by riser4

I took daily turmeric supplements fir a long time. I now have an enlarged, fatty liver. I dont think that's what caused it necessarily, but turmeric supplements have come under scrutiny lately for liver issues. I eat it in foods when I want some. The liver situation probably definitely a result of being obese. I dont even have a good story of being a drunk to blame it on.

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Sorry you’re going through some rough shit :(

Thanks for mentioning that. Here’s the first hit that I found: https://www.jeffersonhealth.org/your...liver-injuries

All the turmeric supplements at my local store have black pepper. :frown: