it's totally possible to live almost pain-free if you are always learning! like tai chi, climbing, rotating the shoulders while hanging on the bar, stretching, yoga, etc. everytime i walk the dog to the park i do dips, pulls-ups, and leg raises while hanging.

in my case, for example, with climbing, jumping down from the last few feet requires no skill. the younger people rely on the cartilage to handle the impact. older more experienced climbers reserve the jumping for the moves where there is no way around the jumping.

every strain adds up - it's a marathon not a sprint.

another way of looking at it: if you can't do something comfortably, you are not good at it. so either don't do it at all, or start practicing. i like the cross-fit mentality of not sucking at anything and being really good at something (however i detest the corporate cross-fit culture that damages bodies thru extreme competition).