How to exercise without injury...
(How to KEEP exercising without damaging yourself.)

Today's post: Friday, 5-29-2008

Today’s online health news had this story from Reuters.:

“Baby boomers' bodies hit by years of wear and tear

By Megan Rauscher

Fri May 30, 9:50 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors who specialize in disorders of the skeletal system and associated muscles, joints and ligaments are being kept busy these days, as increasing numbers of baby boomer athletes and exercise enthusiasts hit middle age and beyond.

"We are seeing a number of overuse or 'wear and tear' injuries in the foot, ankle, knees, hip, shoulders and elbows, in baby boomers," Dr. Jeffrey A. Ross, a foot and ankle podiatrist from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, told Reuters Health. "Baby boomers suffer injuries over a period of time and a lot has to do with biomechanics, poor flexibility, wear and tear, and pounding on hard surfaces" that come with sports like running, tennis, step aerobics and basketball, Ross added.

As people age, Ross believes it's worth considering alternative activities that put less stress on joints. "It is really important that people continue to be physically active, but they need to think logically about how to remain active as they age," he said.

Ross spoke about overuse injuries in baby boomers at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine underway in Indianapolis. "We need to be rational and logical without hurting ourselves and developing overuse injuries that can really become debilitating as we get older," Ross told Reuters Health. ….”

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The authors knew how important regular exercise is for good health. And, some were baby boomer-aged exercisers themselves.

So they recommended changing & adapting your exercise program to avoid these kinds of injuries & allow you to continue exercising without either permanent damage or continuous minor injuries.

The examples they gave tend to be from running & competitive sports.

Both can be great for keeping off fat, raising HDL cholesterol, & aerobic fitness. But they tend to be the best fit for people under 30 or 40.

But anyone over 30 or 40 can run into injury problems with these kinds of exercises as they often have sudden high stress or pounding impact or overuse of joints.

There are several solutions. One is to do less of these kinds of exercises. (The article focused on that strategy. Its authors suggested running 5 kilometer races instead of Marathons or running every other day instead of 7 days a week.)

Other people have focused on minimizing the stresses of these exercises with such strategies as learning to run more smoothly, running on a soft track instead of concrete, getting excellent quality & impact absorbing running shoes or doing all 3.

For me, these strategies were not enough. Once I started getting a regular problem with my right Achilles tendon every time I got into decent shape & running even half way decent times nowhere close to competitive with real athletes, I’d have to stop running as it would become strained.

It became clear that if I wanted to become fit & keep exercising I’d have to do something else. Running no longer worked.

So, I switched to a Nordic Track. That worked until I developed knee strains. Mercifully, by doing an interval style shorter workout every other day instead of 7 days a week & adding ChoPat kneecap braces, I was able to stay very fit doing three 25 minute interval training style sessions each week.

Elliptical trainers, tai chi, walking, routines from other martial arts from Tae Bo to Karate to Kung Fu to Tae Kwan Do, swimming, & -- if you are careful, stationary bike riding or walking on an incline with a treadmill, & using a mini trampoline can also work.

In my case, I’m considering trading some of my sessions on my Nordic Track, which are now 10 minutes of interval training instead of 25 -- for some sessions with the UrbanRebounder mini trampoline. (It seems if I don’t, my hip sockets will give me fits from overuse.)

The bad news is that I really liked running & using my Nordic Track enough to be very fit.

But instead of messing my body up or being unable to exercise, I’ve made lower impact & slightly less frequent exercises fill in.

I’m still decently fit by my standards & even very fit compared to people my age. And, my Achilles tendons, knees, & hips still operate pain free & are un-replaced.

So, if you start getting injuries over & over from your exercise routine, the data reported today & my personal experience suggests that if you make similar adjustments, you’ll feel better, get to stay fit & continue exercising, & your medical bills will be a LOT less.