gofer articles

Aching muscle relief is some thing often encountered among older athletes. For largely unknown reasons, the aging process causes muscles to tighten and causes their use to be significantly hindered, usually resulting in soreness and even outright pain. A muscle relief gel is utilized by many to treat such conditions, people who refuse to be consigned to the much less active lifestyles typically recommended by their doctors.

As per the old adage about the truth being “somewhere in-between,” perhaps the best course of action would be to heed the healtcare providers’ advice to a certain degree, relieving aching muscles while not totally giving up long-cherished hobbies – that is, modifying their pursuit in deference to age or the advancement thereof.

Of course, such a course of action is tough for athletes used to giving their all and pushing performance envelopes. But it must be learned, and practiced and mastered the same as any new skill, to be able to lay the appropriate foundation for a physically rigorous, but also safe, life. The older athlete faces enough challenges with out bringing on more, for instance creating issues outright by refusing to accommodate nature’s unavoidable progression.

Decline is inevitable. What is not unavoidable is catastrophic break-down, and that depends in big part on the older athlete’s psychological acceptance of significantly changed conditions. Go with the flow, working with Mother Nature, and you are able to typically expect a vigorous enough life still.

Listen to your body. Learn its new language, its reduced syntax. The range of physical expression diminishes, but vibrancy is still possible when properly channeled.

That is the challenge for the older athlete, pain or no pain. It is to learn anew how to work with the limits of one’s body, encouraging it to excel its capabilities even while respecting those limits. It is the obstacle of any athlete at any age, but advanced ages make the challenge a lot more plain.