As a physical therapist, what I take away from the NPR article by Richard Harris, 6,000-Year-Old Knee Joints Suggest Osteoarthritis Isn't Just Wear And Tear, is the importance of life-long physical activity. Healthy habits start in our youth and set us up for healthier aging. Balanced nutrition and exercise for tissue health are good lifestyle choices and evidence has shown that these habits improve cardiovascular, immune and neurological health too!

This article also mentions sports injuries and it is important to consider how hard we are pushing our young athletes. There is potential for their behavior now to result in chronic issues in adulthood. Too much focus on one sport denies the physiological benefits of cross-training and free play. It can also reduce enjoyment of physical activity and increase burnout rate.

I look forward to longitudinal studies that support the takeaways from this article!