In sports, age is just a number

I've played sports quite a bit in my life. And I can chalk up a few nagging injuries along the way - a pulled hamstring here, a minor ankle sprain there, a bothersome hip flexor or two. But for the most part I've been durable (and lucky) when it comes to avoiding significant injury.

Now nearing age 30, I can't help but be more aware of my overall health. And I have to say, I feel better now than I did at 20. I'm not Jared from Subway or anything - I didn't drastically change my lifestyle or lose 200 pounds. For the most part, my workout regimen is the same as it was 10 years ago. The only thing that's changed, is that I'm not playing basketball or jogging anymore. Avid supporters of both these activities surely won't enjoy reading this, but I believe that's been the difference. All other things equal (fitness level, weight, prior injury history), it's not so much your age as it is the amount of abuse you've put your body through.

So how does this relate to the sports world, you didn't ask? Well, I'll tell you. (I'll put jogging aside as I don't know any pro joggers, and the negative long term effects of jogging are well documented.)

You don't have to look too hard for examples in the NBA. Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal of the Celtics have missed a combined 131 games over the past 3 seasons, and look to be in the twilight of their careers. Yet they are only 34, and 32, respectively. They both came to the NBA straight from high school, meaning it would be more accurate to look at their combined 29 seasons in a league with a grueling 82-game schedule, playing a sport that consists of so much jumping, pivoting, stomping, and other unnatural human motions, that you really can't blame these guys for being 34/32 going on 50.

It's not just the jump from high school straight to the NBA that makes one age faster. Tim Duncan's Spurs routinely make trips deep into the playoffs. So many in fact, that Duncan has played in 170 playoff games. That's over two extra seasons of basketball! Not to mention all the summers he played on Olympic or national teams. Like Garnett, Duncan is only 34 but he's really starting to show his basketball age, having just set career lows in points, rebounds, and minutes per game.

Of course you'll still have your Andrew Bynums and Greg Odens who can't steer clear of injuries no matter what their age, but that isn't the point here. Again, all things equal, your joints can only take so much pounding until they start screaming.

We also see this type of real-life mileage aging in the NFL, especially among running backs. The bodies of Shaun Alexander and Marshall Faulk were basically finished at 31 because of the pounding they took from the start...while Thomas Jones is an example of a player who has lasted a little longer, because he didn't take as heavy a beating earlier in his career.

It's not your age that counts, it's your odometer. So stay healthy out there, and spend the tread left on your tires wisely.