Why can't Kurt Angle extend his legs?

 

For many years now Kurt Angle has looked like he’s crouching and leaning forward slightly when he’s standing upright, almost like he cannot fully straighten his neck and legs. This can be attributed to the fact that the man has bled, sweat and paid the price of a wrestling lifetime, and now his body is a wreck. He is in constant physical pain after pushing his body for decades and sustaining numerous injuries. Kurt told the App website in 2021;

"I’m pretty beat up. I put a lot of time into the pro wrestling business and unfortunately I didn’t take really good care of myself during that time and I’m paying the price right now..” (Gable Steveson won the gold medal at the Olympics. Kurt Angle thinks WWE is 'drooling')

Kurt’s main health issues are with his neck and upper body but his knees are also suffering after many years on the wrestling mat and in the professional wrestling ring. Kurt mentioned his knees as an issue, and how his quality of life is poor due to his health issues when he did an interview with the TKO podcast in 2020;

“I mean, I'm hurting pretty badly. My knees, my back, my neck. Sometimes I think about, would I go back? My quality of life right now sucks. So I do have a lot of suffering." (https://www.sportskeeda.com/amp/wwe/kurt-angle-says-his-quality-of-life-sucks)

Kurt specifically addressed his knees and why he can’t fully extend and straighten his legs during a Facebook Q & A session in 2018. Kurt stated that when he wrestled, both as an amateur and a professional, he did so from a half squat position and 35 years of competing this way has taken a toll on his knee joints;

“My knees will not straighten out entirely when I stand. It’s most likely because of my 35 year wrestling career. I’ve always had to be in a squat position when I wrestled. And that’s all I’ve done for 35 years.” (https://wwfoldschool.com/kurt-angle-reveals-why-it-looks-like-he-has-knee-issues-walks-differently/amp/)

It’s also worth noting that Kurt has endured multiple knee surgeries during his professional wrestling career which, when coupled with his other surgeries on different body parts, has compromised his knees to the point that he can no longer fully extend his legs.

Kurt did an interview with David Robson of the Bodybuilding website way back in 2007 in which he states that, although he maintains a rigorous training program, he avoids movements such as leg extensions and leg curls in order to avoid putting any stress on his knees, so it would appear that Kurt’s knees have been bothering him for many years;

“The next day I do my running, where I run three miles and then I go and do three sets of squats with reps from 50-100 on each set with around 225 pounds. To protect my knees I no longer do leg extensions nor find the need to do leg curls because the squat targets all major lower body muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, and glute's) while also supporting my core.” (An Interview With Wrestling Legend Kurt Angle.)

So it would appear that a lifetime of hard training and pushing his body to its limit is the reason that Kurt cannot fully extend his legs. Kurt’s knees appear to be the least of his issues though as he has stated in numerous interviews that his many neck injuries have caused severe nerve damage which primarily affects his upper body, meaning he has to train his arms every single day in order to stop the muscles from atrophying. Kurt told David Robson;

“I actually have to train my upper body, primarily my arms, every other day with pump sets in order to get adequate blood into my arms, neck and traps. My arms are certainly not big but if I don't train them this way the muscle degenerates and shrinks.” (An Interview With Wrestling Legend Kurt Angle.)

I hate to paint such a sorry picture of a true wrestling legend. Kurt Angle made a lot of sacrifices in order to be the best in the world and now he is paying the price. I myself greatly appreciate Kurt’s efforts over the last few decades. I have been a fan of his since he debuted in WWE and I wish him all the best in his life moving forward.