There is a fine line between physical fitness and madness-T.E. Keats

For many years, I have studied the radiologic aspects of musculoskeletal stress injury, culminating in a book on the subject, published several years ago. I have continued this interest, and must confess that, at times, I am overwhelmed by the seeming mindlessness of some individuals in their pursuit of physical fitness. I am not immune to the wisdom of keeping fit and, in fact, have exercised regularly since I was a youngster. However, in this new era of physical prowess, I find increasing evidence of the terrible things that people do to themselves in the name of "fitness," and worse still, they keep on doing it despite their injuries.

I have seen examples of marathon runners who keep running with stress fractures; weight lifters with stress fractures of the arms, clavicles, and ribs who continue to lift weights; gymnasts who have epiphyseal lysis of their distal radii but still compete; and athletes in many sports who continue to inject steroids into their own joints for relief of pain until they have destroyed them.

I gather that these are examples of exercise addiction, which I am told is even stronger than that to nicotine, and fortunately, these individuals are in the minority. However, even for those of us who consider ourselves rational beings, it is sad that as we age, many of the things we do to keep fit start to hurt. So, I leave you with another of my profound axioms to live by:

"If it hurts, stop doing it!"