Why can most 80-90 year old people barely walk (and not run) anymore?
In: Biology
Some parts of our body regenerate/renew regularly. If you get a papercut today, your body will show no sign of that papercut in a few months.
Other parts start out the best they will ever be and just decline from there. Joint cartilage is one of those parts. It lubricates the motion of our limbs and provides some cushioning when the bones in the joint are pressed together. It’s especially crucial to the operation of knees and hips (which are, in turn, essential for walking).
When you’re in an upright position, your head and torso are pressing down on your legs. Without adequate cartilage in the hips and knees, this pressure will cause the bones to grind together as you walk. This is painful, and it also slows you down. That’s why older people will use canes or walkers. They remove some of the pressure on the lower body and place it in the upper body instead.
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