When we are young and sprightly, there are generally no thoughts or concerns about not being able to balance or climb the stairs when we get old – like over 40! This is something that younger folk perhaps ought to be made aware of at that stage – an introduction and gentle reminders about the issue when at school will probably help to form good habits throughout the next stage in their life. If I knew when I was a young teenager that climbing and falling out of trees and carelessly falling off a pony or a bike, could cause the startt of osteo arthritis later in life. I had a series of mishaps in my formative years and these proved to be problematic in my thirties in that series damage to my knees had not been addressed when it should have been and so I needed a knee replacement. This was not done then as the new knees were not expected to last very many years and a second or third replacement was never considered a good deal then.
I have since had that replacement and made great recovery, but in order to stop the arthritis over taking every joint in my body, I find I need to keep my weight as low as possible. The more weight bearing down on the knees and ankles causes stress and a great deal of inflammation and pain. I go to the gym on a very regular basis and take part in exercise classes specifically designed to aid my lack of balance and mobility. These may have been avoided if I knew this and acted in my teens what I have found out later!