You know dozens of people from a single place that have chronic tendon/joint issues?

Yes? These types of injuries are common among bodybuilders and powerlifters.

I don't doubt it. You make casual friends sometimes at certain gyms, especially if any sort of sports are involved like tennis or even group classes.

I am a super introvert and know at least half a dozen folks with such issues, more if you include my close friend group.

Any place that has a lot of physically active people stressing their limits a bit is going to have a lot of injured folks over a decent period of time. And of course it gets talked about quite a lot, since it limits performance and ability.

My trainer knows I have a chronic shoulder issue, and an adductor issue at the moment I'm working through that we need to avoid stressing too much. The few other folks who tend to work out around my schedule know of this, and I know of theirs.

Not very uncommon really.

Sure. He says that they commonly use steroids. It's no wonder they have degenerative joint disease.

Hang out at a BJJ or MMA gym for a bit, and you'll find plenty. Peptides are really popular in combat sports circles, with good reason.

You should hang out at a climbing gym sometime. There is nothing that unites climbers more than injury talk.

It's often part of the life if you're lifting competitively.