So, what would you do (doctor recommends)?

What I would do? You know I am a very good example of a bad example, if you get my drift. So do keep this in mind because what I would do is by no means the best for you. When you make your decision use common sense and be prepared to suffer the consequences later on. Sometimes to some people the consequences are worth taking the risk.

I prefer to wear it out rather than let is rust out. When I was 16 I was diagnosed with a 'Scheuerman' a vitamin D deficiency which fuses the spine. 3 sections between my shoulder blades were already fused and limited my mobility. Treatment was a body cast to help the spine at least fuse straight and let the disease run it's course. Long term prognosis was probably a wheelchair at age 30. That was not an option for me and I seriously started athletics. Any athletics, mostly biking, swimming and running but also gymnastics, hiking and anything else that presented itself to me. When I was 30 I started martial arts and at the time also saw a chiropractor who told me that my fusions were actually not severe enough and that he could break them. I told him he was crazy and never went back. As martial arts uses a full range of body motion I had to work much more on mobility. Looking behind me to throw a back kick was impossible and my teacher spend hours with me after class holding a pad and me trying to throw back kicks into the pad. A few years later I went to have a chest x-ray done and there was no sign of the fusion. The chiropractor was right but instead of him breaking the fusions I did it myself through my constant training and living in a country now that adds vitamin D to their milk. Today the treatment for my condition is not putting people in a body cast anymore but instead exercise. Medical doctors know a lot but do not know it all and much is guess work and staying one step ahead of a law suit. If the doctor tells you 'dont move' and you move and hurt yourself it is on your head. If the doctor tells you 'move' and you move and hurt yourself you will sue him. They give you the best advice they know for you but also to protect themselves and it is not perfect and through research things often change completely opposite. I have another story like that when I had my knee injury. So for myself while I listen to the advice of doctors I do not always follow it to the letter. I don't do really crazy stuff and I don't take pain medication. Pain is a very good indicator when too much is too much and you need to slow down. How can you listen to your body telling you things when you shut it up? So common sense in everything but if I listened to doctors every time, I just might be in a wheel chair today or not walk properly because of a bad knee or not have any kids.

But before you make such a decision you need to evaluate what your condition is. Other than telling us about pain you say nothing about what causes the pain. To me that would be the most important thing when determining to continue training or not. Adjusting your training a bit, wearing an elbow brace, acupuncture may be options for you, I don't know. I'd definitely keep an open mind and look for other options rather than just giving up altogether.

Well I would certainly alter my approach to training and what I was doing if I were you and choose to continue training in some way. I started looking at this in my late 20s and started altering my training then for this reason and then again still later in my late 30s and still again the past ten years.

In my late 20s I would not teach in bare feet anymore and sometimes even work out with tennis shoes on just to cushion my feet, ankles, and knees more and have not had any knee operations like many of my friends have had. In my 30s I pretty much stopped throwing snapping techniques like backfists and snap type kicks without hitting a pad or a heavy bag. That way my tendons and joints would not have to absorb the shock of not hitting anything and the momentum that created and stress that put on my joints and tendons.

In my 40s I started cutting back a little on my sparring and the amount of contact I was getting and how hard of contact. I figured that the wear and tear that my body would take because of it would probably shorten my career and ability to do martial arts at a high level more than the benefits that the sparring gave me. In my late 50s I pretty much stopped hard contact sparring for the most part entirely and do very little of that today actually as I really don't have a lot to prove to anyone.

If I were you I would consider that which I had been doing that got me to this point and alter that. That includes everything from what you eat and drink and your diet to how and what you do to warm up and the approaches to what you are doing when working out. While the damage you have already done might not be able to be undone in total there probably are some ways and things you can do to extend your ability to do martial arts in some way while not ruining your body and wrecking your health in total. Consider what I am saying here and altering things and seeking out those that are knowledgeable in training and nutrition for their advice and recommendations.

I am sorry to hear that, I really am.

However, you just proved a point that has been made on here numerous times. When you continually train using your "aliveness" and constantly subject your body to full contact sparing, there are consequences sooner or later. I am not saying that all full contact sparing or resisting is bad, just not as the main training tool and as far as full contact not daily.

You cannot undo the damage already done, but you can limit the continued damage that you do. Does that mean quit altogether, I don't believe that it does. It is time to start being smart about your training though and to admit that what you are doing is some how improper. This might involve new training methods in the same art or perhaps switching to one of the "softer" arts like TaiChi.

I have a similar yet not as drastic situation. Because of the way we executed kicks in the Chung Do Kwan class I was in ( extending the leg fully and locking it out on front kicks), I am now fighting arthritis in both knees and wear a brace on one.

What would I do? I would adjust my training and focus on proper technique. I would also suggest that you try acupuncture if you can find a qualified acupuncturist. Yea yea, "I know it is all bullsh!t and chi is not real and that crap doesn't work." Just like always sparing full contact is best and has no side effects. It has helped me greatly, so your call. If that doesn't help I would look into TaiChi.

A few things you need to know, most MD's do not have experience in Martial arts so assume that all of them are the same. I would suggest that you first find a MD who has experience with MA as he will be able to help you more. I know that not all of us are the same but as I am 8 yrs your senior and am still practicing I can tell you some of what I have found.

1st your initial problems with is tendinitis, you are probably hyper-extending your punches which I have seen a lot of people do. the way you can tell is by grabbing something heavy and leaving your arm relaxed. Look at it as this is the real full extension and the most you should extend you arm. Next drop the weight and slowly put your arm in the finished punching position. If the elbow is not in the same position as the weighted one, they you are hyper-extending your punches which is causing your tendinitis.

I would tell you that if you like martial arts and want to continue it you may want to look at more natural MA (traditional Okinawan for instance) or modify yours to continue. Many styles have done postures that are too exaggerated and harm your joints. I have a student who was told that she should not do MA again but when she began my style, she got Relief and improved. She has sent me more students than any add. hope this helps.

First I want to say that I'm sorry to hear about this report from your doctor.

If it were me I believe I would continue to do what I love and or enjoy. There are no guarantees in life. want to live and enjoy my limited time here on earth. I believe there is a difference in living and existing. I choose to live. There is a saying that goes I'd rather burn out than rust out. I would limit some of the things that I might do, but I still have to live. I empathize with you. I was in a bad car accident. I was told that I might not ever walk again. Later there was hope that everything would return to normal. But it didn't. It has been years later now and I still have pain and swelling. I was told that I must live with this the rest of my life. I was told by my doctors not to lift anything, not to go up or down any stairs, no ladders, etc, etc. I told my doctor that I still have to live, According to then about the only thing I can do is wake up and go to bed, That is just existing. Today I still continue to train and teach. I just modify what I do. I can' run a marathon, but that is fine with me as I never enjoyed running that much anyway. I won't win any sprints, but I didn't win a lot of those either. I could keep up, but I would win many. If I go bowling now I can't plant my foot and it causes pain. I've learn to enjoy being with the family and watching them bowl. I may bowl a game or 2, but I don't bowl as many games as I used to do. I'm a competitive person. I enjoyed playing basketball. But I can't run up and down the floor. There were something I had to give up. In martial arts there are a somethings that I can't do in my kata so I made adjustments for me to still do my kata. But I teach my students the original way. If there is something i can't do I get someone else to demonstrate those things for me.

Even though I teach my students it is better to run than fight I know 1st hand that there are times when you can't run. But as I pointed out earlier I wasn't that good at running anyway. It is also good to be prepared.

Just as an encouragement to you. Remember the doctor does not get the final word. They can only make an educated guess. They practice medicine. They don't have all of the answers.

Here is a point of view that I have now that is totally different from the way I thought and trained when I was in my early years....... I see martial arts as a constructive physical activity, as well as a system of life-protection. We train to gain skills for self-preservation. We improve our health too. We often abuse our bodies in the mindset that it will make us tough and a better fighter. but to damage ourselves, fats or over the years, is counter productive. I now have several chronic conditions that can't be fixed due to harsh improper training. I have beginning stages of arthritis in my hands and feet. In Asia in places like Okinawa it is common for martial arts masters to live into their 80's or 90's. Many train their whole life. Most can easily defeat any younger person. They can do it before the younger person even knows what has happened.

My point is if your training is injuring you then it is improper. My hands were like rocks in my 20's. I could hit steel support columns with a knife hand using full power. I could break most anything I decide to break. My hands now are soft and have no calluses. Yet my strikes have more effect while using a fraction of the power I used as a young man. My improvement is not due to anything except proper and improved application. Better distance, accuracy to specific targets, etc...

I suggest that you find a different art that is less abusive to your body, OR to find less abusive ways to practice what you study now.

I was going to suggest that you get a 2nd opinion form a different doctor. since you have already done that it is clear that you have limited options now. If you choose to ignore what they said, prepare to have a painful miserable old age. Sorry to tell you this. i know it is not what you wanted to hear. but, it is what you needed to hear from someone that has lived through this same issue.

Train smart, not abusive.

...

I would continue, but I would change my training habits. I've gone through this, as I suffer from arthritis and several other aches and pains. I refuse to participate in a geriatrics martial arts class, but I do train smart.

I used to train to compete, and to be bigger and badder than my competitors. I realized that using strength and stamina only gets you as far as God has decided will be optimal for the human body, which for me was apparently around 35 years old - after which, such training can be dangerous.

So, I changed my habits and methods. I no longer compete, and I don't need to, preferring instead to focus on self-defense, and better understanding the human body.

What you're going through is normal. A doctor will give you the "run for the hills" spiel to get you to change your lifestyle that will lead to fewer injuries. And that's sound advice, but at what cost? And what are you supposed to do in the meantime? A better doctor would have told you to change your training habits.

I don't know what I would do. There are consequences to continuing like that. You don't want to spend your 50s being ill and injured. Honestly man I would try and slow down. You'll have to do eventually anyway. It's not worth having fun now if it costs you your health and you spend the next 30-40 years being in pain.

I guess you'll have to go... Because you wanna walk when you're like 60 right? Just get some calcium pills at the pharmacy. Make sure they're 600 mg EACH. Drink 2 tablets a day, recommended amount of calcium per day is 1300 MG, but 1200 should be close.

Then you need to look at your training,

If martial arts is causing your injury then you are training wrong. Martial arts is not suppose to cause injury, but prevent it.

Talk to a sports medicinal expert, they should be able to help you and explain the cause of the injuries.

Personally I think it was these ninja cats of your doing this to you deliberately. This is why you should never trust ninja cats