[dannyb]

Yes indeed, it's important to know where we are physically. As age creeps up (and up) on us, our limitations expand faster than our skills. I was lugging a pair of 40 lb bags of salt to the water softening unit. I've done this every couple of months over the last years. Now that I'm approaching 60, I didn't realize that I had become that much more fragile. Now, after rotator cuff surgery for the tear initiated by the salt bags, I'm much more aware.

I wonder what defense programs are out there that address the ongoing damage of aging. For me PT used to mean physical training; now it means physical therapy. It's easy to say "stay in shape" when you're in your 20s to 40s, but when there's no cartilage left in one knee, only 1/2 in the other, your hips feel like some b*st*rd has poured sand in them, and you can stand at attention like the old British redcoats with their leather collars just because of the arthritis in your neck, the admonitions for a rigorous daily exercise routine just don't reach the level of reality. So, are there people who specialize in this problem? Is there SD/HD training available for the arthritic? I've seen individual responses about personal adaptations, but I wonder if there isn't a market for a systematic program.