It does, and it doesn’t. Because we see a large number of older people in our society moving slowly and suffering with lots of musculoskeletal maladies, we tend to believe that these problems are simply part and parcel of getting old. This only appears to be true because in industrialized society we do not see as many older people who have figured out how to maintain mobility and strength in the long-run. However, in tribes where varied daily movement is necessary for survival, the adults continue to be mobile into old age.

If you wrapped your hand up in a fist and kept it taped shut for the next thirty years, your hand would be stiff, inflexible, and definitely painful. We wouldn’t blame “age” as the problem; we would point at the tape and conclude that it had a deleterious effect on your hand's function.

If a small restriction affects your movement patterns negatively, it can easily snowball into a worse and worse situation over time. That is what happens to us as we age - unless we actively combat that process.

For a detailed example and explanation, watch this video: Why Your Knees Hurt As You Age