You Cannot Save Your Joints By Using Them Less
There is a belief that shapes an enormous number of decisions, and almost nobody questions it.
That your joints have a fixed mileage.
That cartilage is like tire tread, that you are born with a certain amount, and that every hike, every run and every flight of stairs uses a little more of it. So the sensible thing, especially as you get older, is to go easy. Protect them. Save what you have left.
It is intuitive, it is widespread, and the evidence points firmly the other way.