"You’re Just Getting Old" Isn’t a Diagnosis!
A client of mine once went to an orthopedist for knee pain. She was over 40, overweight, and had recently taken up long-distance walking. She expected a conversation about biomechanics or maybe an imaging test.
Instead, the doctor shrugged and said the cause of the pain was “too many birthdays.”
If that were true, I asked her, wouldn’t both knees hurt?
She’s not alone. I hear it frequently. Too many patients, especially those over a certain age, hear some version of “you’re just getting old” when they bring up a symptom.
Even Medscape acknowledged it: doctors often attribute aches, pains, or fatigue to aging without exploring other causes.
One physician was quoted in the article, “I can’t tell my patients the truth any longer because they get upset, as if I were insulting them.”
The “truth,” in his mind, was that decline is simply part of aging. But there’s a difference between acknowledging aging and using it as a blanket diagnosis.
With ageism on one side and the harsh realities of the "golden years" on the other, no wonder some people resist the idea that aging is affecting their body and mind.
Aging does change our bodies, but it doesn’t automatically explain every new symptom. Writing everything off as “old age” is lazy medicine and, worse, can miss something treatable.
Commenting on the Medscape article, one doctor wrote, "I once heard a gerontology professor tell the story of his 96-year-old friend who went to his doctor for knee pain. After an X-ray and a quick exam, the doctor said, “Sir, you’re just getting old.” The man replied, “Both legs are a set. I got them at the same time. If it’s age, why doesn’t the other one hurt?”'
Exactly.
Another doctor told a story about a 95-year-old farmer who complained of fatigue. Some wanted to send him home. “He’s old, what do you expect?”
One resident dug deeper. Tests revealed lymphoma running the length of his spine. After his third dose of chemo, he was a changed man, full of energy, and asking the doctor, "So, when is this stuff you're giving me supposed to knock me down?"
It’s not that age is never a factor.
But it should be a diagnosis of exclusion, not the first guess. Once other causes are ruled out, you can chalk it up to the natural wear and tear of life.
Defaulting to “just old age” carries two big risks:
Missed diagnoses--Treatable conditions like anemia, thyroid issues, or cancer can be overlooked.
Eroded trust --Patients feel dismissed, unheard, or even insulted.
Our bodies tell us stories.
Sometimes they're about the years, sometimes about the miles.
Sometimes, they’re about something fixable, if someone listens long enough to find out.
If you’re told “it’s just age,” consider asking:
“What else could it be?”
“What tests might rule out other causes?”
“If I were 20 years younger, what would you check?”
Because while birthdays are inevitable, being dismissed shouldn’t be.
