I had some knee problems as a teenager as a result of a judo injury, but as long as I am diligent about doing leg curls and leg extensions, so all the relevant muscle groups stay strong, I have no problems.

Just a comment about painkillers. A friend of mine, about 51 years old, just had her knee replaced recently. She's had a really rough time of it. She was always very active and a runner. And she'd been having pain for quite some time and taking a lot of ibuprofen. So the ibuprofen masked some of the pain and so she could run more or whatever, and that caused even more damage to her knee. The doc has forbidden her to ever take it again, because she needs to know when it hurts so she can take appropriate action. BTW, her doc is in the same group as my orthopedic surgeon and they're a sports medicine group, and very focused on getting people back to their prior activities.

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August 22, back on the ice!

ITA that people should not dose up on painkillers instead of treating the problem. However, ibuprofen and aspirin are not just analgesics (painkillers); they are actually anti-inflammatories, and inflammation should be kept down for lots of reasons. Taking an ibuprofen in *addition* to resting the knee (or whatever area is bothering you) can help nip it in the bud, as can icing.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

True, but my orthopedist had told me that you need to be in the 600 mg range for true anti-inflammatory activity, and the normal OTC dose is only 400 mg. I think my point (and my friend's doc) is that you should seek the advice of your doctor if you're having to take relatively a lot of painkillers, and not just assume you can treat yourself forever when something is obviously wrong.

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August 22, back on the ice!

*Puts hand up* Another Cod liver oil user here. Only 27, but been physically active most of my life plus use a keyboard a lot. I take a spoonful everyday before breakfast and I swear it helps.

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Skate Free

I definitely wouldn't argue with that.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics