At his decline, that was the absolute epitome of Palumboism. Its a very valuable lesson. When you push GH and insulin too hard, combined with a certain genetic pre-disposition and age, the Palumboism consequences can be drastic.
Its now been established that its primarily the use of large and prolonged use of quality GH that is the primary cause of the Palumboism, but there is definitely a genetic component that has it affect some more with ribcage and elbows etc. And it becomes even more apparent as the muscle quality declines and the skeletal structural changes are permanent.
But remember, back then, no body builder deliberately set out to develop Palumboism. Rather they were pioneers, and the effects and the entire understanding of Palumboism then became known.
