Boomeritis, as defined by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, refers to sports related injuries suffered by babyboomers. These injuries include bursitis, tendinitis, arthritis, sprains, strains and stress fractures.
Every generation has it's share of sports related injuries, but the boomers are legendary in their unwillingness to accept injury related downtime. You know the mantra, no pain, no gain, right? As a result of this mentality, weak links such as old injuries, age related structural changes and genetic predisposition are exposed to overuse and can lead to chronic problems.
Even worse, mixed messages and conflicting information compound the problem. Exercise and weightlifting are viewed as keys to maintaining a youthful appearance. The Woodstock generation understands that weightlifting increases muscle size and view this as an important weapon in the battle against natural muscle loss due to aging. However, engaging in fitness activities actually brings on age related changes in joints and tendons.
Babyboomers need to keep these biological changes in mind when designing workout programs, understanding that with age comes a loss of flexibility and lengthened reaction and recovery times. Joints have less lubrication and the elasticity of muscles, tendons and ligaments diminishes with time and needs to be taken into account in the planning stages of nutritional, supplement, cardiovascular and training programs.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that the number of trips to the emergency room for sports related injuries to boomers increased 33% between 1991 and 1998. With some modifications to their exercise programs babyboomers can avoid the downtime associated with overuse injuries and enjoy sports and fitness related activities for many years into future.
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