OK I chuckled but real talk: knee trouble in your 30s isn’t normal and shouldn’t be treated as normal
this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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37, Mechanic, lot of squatting and bending. No knee issues.
Moral: Use it, or lose it
Yeah, if your knees are fucked up at 30, you're probably an athlete and injured your knees multiple times, or obese and overloaded them with too much weight.
Also it’s hard to really fuck up your knees irrecoverably. They can bounce back from a lot.
Consistent use makes them stronger
There is an upper limit to the kind of weight they can sustain but (theoretically and with enough training to work up to it) that limit is pretty high.
Even knees that have been abused long-term can often recover. I hope more people learn this and reclaim the mobility they’ve lost.
ETA: TLDR
OP probably played football in high school or something.
Perhaps, but all that’s mentioned is age.
I’ve heard knees-crap-out-after-30-amirite jokes since my early 20s. It’s a form of denial coalition-building favored by folks obviously avoiding important lifestyle changes, and it’s rarely harmless to affirm that kind of denial.
In addition, unexplained joint pain is a symptom of a number of chronic illnesses that have better outcomes with early diagnosis and treatment, such as rheumatoid arthritis. If someone thinks it’s normal, they might not even ask about it until the pain and damage is life-altering.
That’s why I say it shouldn’t be treated as normal.
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I wonder if squatting while lifting weights (gym) is also a speedrun to bad knees, or whether that actually does improvements
Nope, it’s great if you do it with proper form.
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Yall some sedentary motherfuckers if your knees already hurt at 30
Not always, some of us had knee injuries.
Nah, I'm a sedentary motherfucker.
I’m pushing 40 and my knees are just fine. My esophageal sphincter on the other hand is very angryface. Omeprazole helps but it’s very much thrown in the towel.
Ugh, kill me.
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I'm 30 and my body feels better than when I was 20. Looking after myself alot better now.
Looking after myself alot better now.
I'm in the same boat. I started to turn things around in my late 20s with regular exercise, and my knees (and back) feel better at 31 than they did at 25.
46 here, knees are fine, digestive system on the other hand....
Working my way gradually down to deep squats has been great for my knees. It doesn't take much to get there and maintain. I just found times to hold a squat for a bit while watching TV or gardening. Also, the knees over toes guy has some good advice for keeping your joints healthy.
I hit my knees so many times. 29, still functional.
Start running, it will strengthen the muscles around your knees and protect them. It also brings a million other health benefits.
Running is about the worst thing you can do to your knees.
If done correctly, it will not have a negative impact on the joints. Dampened running shoes and starting really slow are important. Movement will keep your knees healthy. The strengthened muscles will help when you lift heavy weights. Running is also one of the best ways to loose weight, which will reduce pressure on the knees in return.
Of course there are exceptions when running isn't a great idea, like high obesity, chronic pain or injuries.
If running isn't your thing, biking or swimming could be nice alternatives.
Doesn't seem to be strictly true, but I do think it's complicated. Running is awful for your knees if they're injured or you have some sort of congenital skeletal issue. If you're just sedentary, it's awful for your knees if you do too much too soon.
Otherwise it seems to strengthen them. I will grant that it's pretty hard to truly run easy enough and build up slowly enough. Takes patience and some trial and error in my experience. I skateboarded through my teens and 20s and had all sorts of nagging pains that have gone away completely after a couple years of consistent running, as an anecdote.
https://longevity.stanford.edu/lifestyle/2023/08/29/is-running-bad-for-your-knees-research-says-no/
There's a sweet spot. Go too easy and they get screwed up and go too hard and they screw up.
But it's true that being reasonably active helps a ton. Someone I know who complained of joint pain as they retired claims it went away as his leisure time caused him to walk all over the place, and now he's 70 with no joint pain. Closest he got was when we spent two hours in a crawlspace working on some frozen pipes and complained that his back hurt a bit and wondered if it was because he was old. No, even the 20 year old hurt after waddling around hunched over in freezing temperatures for a couple of hours.
Great to hear that being active still strengthens your body when being older. That’s one of my biggest motivations: To be physically healthy and strong when I’m old.
Just don't do it wrong though, because then you will ruin everything.
Yes, it’s recommended to start slow and get fitting running shoes
just a reminder that most people bodies do not degrade. they just stop using them as much as they did when they were younger. the human body is surprisingly resilient to breaking down with regular upkeep. Motion is lotion
I'm 50. If a terrorist put a gun to my head and ordered me to get on my knees, my head would end up blown off.
Currently in a waiting room because my knees stopped kneeing. And I’m younger than 35.
37 here, my knees are great. Sprained my ankle back for the very first time back in November in my kickboxing class and I'm starting to fear I've done permanent damage.
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You can do some sport. That helps. At least at 30.
Until you sport too much and get an injury, and then it's just a chain reaction of things breaking down because you can't exercise them like you used to.
Yeah it's a terrible feeling giving up a sport bc it's too hard on ya. Like I really love Judo but I just can't throw myself at the floor repeatedly any more. But I might be able to do Aikido or low-contact Karate (or just strength training which is what I chose). The trick is knowing when to move on, and it's a tough decision.
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I'd say workout, yoga, lift heavy thing.
Sports only if you actually enjoy them. Most people I know heavily into sports get injured and some of injuries do not heal back to 100% ever.
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Mine hurt at 25 thanks to the Army.
I’m 38 and my knees bend fine, they just make more noises now than they used to.
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I lost my knees at the ripe ol' age of 14. Was playing racquetball at the Y, pivoted and it just hurt like a son of a bitch. Turned out I have a cartilage deficiency specifically in my knees as well as ton of damage from falling on them while rollerblading without protection, so kneeling on or doing anything that involves rigorous bending of my knees is out of the question.
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Do you guys like, not walk? I'm not exactly skinny and mine are fine close to 40.
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Posted by someone who has not hit 30 yet.
Nah bro, I'm past the big 3-0. My knees are still good (though I've got plenty of other aches and pains to make me feel ancient), but I've got friends already complaining. We're all getting old and decrepit. Big RIP to youth 😔
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