At 38 years old, I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to go most of my life without being bothered by sports injuries, despite being consistently and competitively active for the better part of three decades. On the soccer field, I\u2019ve played on and off at club level since primary school. (I\u2019m currently holding it down as a winger on my local club\u2019s 30+ \u201cseniors\u201d team.)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as a health journalist and all-around enthusiastic exerciser, I\u2019ve thrown myself at countless physical challenges\u2014mostly for fun, sometimes to help pay the rent. Marathons<\/a>, trail races, triathlons<\/a>, 24-hour relays, mud runs, obstacle course races, Hyrox<\/a>\u2014you name it, I was probably obsessed with it for a time. And through it all, the only injury I ever incurred was a torn meniscus (the undignified result of attempting a wildly above-my-paygrade basketball dunk on a charitably lowered rim, at a promotional event). If only the surgeon could have extracted the memory of that day along with the frayed connective tissue he removed from my knee. I\u2019m pretty sure I was wearing jeans, too.<\/p>\n All of this to say, everything was smooth sailing for a very long time, until it suddenly wasn\u2019t. Somewhere around the age of 35, for reasons beyond my comprehension at the time, the wheels started to come off the bus. First, a stress fracture to my foot. I noticed it one night in bed and couldn\u2019t tell you when it happened. Regardless, it put me in a boot for three months.<\/p>\n Next, a torn hamstring during a routine game of pick-up football, making the same run I\u2019d made so many times before. I thought I\u2019d just pulled it, so I kept playing, which of course only made it worse. That decision cost me six months. Then a strained calf muscle at a gentle session of run club. And, finally, shin splints. I don\u2019t even remember how many months that one took me out for, but it felt like forever.<\/p>\n This barrage of sports injuries\u2014all sustained within a roughly two-year period\u2014was unrelenting, each overlapping pang seemingly passing the baton to the next. Needless to say, I was miserable. And the worst part was that I couldn\u2019t understand why this was happening to me. I had been maintaining the same activity level, same diet<\/a>, same supplements<\/a>, and the same sleeping habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n