Baby Boomer Fitness – Top Ten Tips to Avoid Boomeritis

Boomeritis is a term I learned about several years ago while reading an article about baby boomers. Since our generation ushered in the exercise craze, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to learn that boomers had arthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, and many other “itis”-type conditions.

According to http://www.medterms.com, the proper definition is as follows:

boomeritis: Injuries to older amateur athletes, especially those who are part of the Baby Boomers, born when there was a marked increase in the birth rate after the end of World War II in 1945. As the Baby Boomer generation began to meet 40s and 50s, there was a veritable explosion of bone and joint pain, aches, injuries and ailments – boomeritis. The term was coined by Dr. Nicholas A DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1999.

I loved this the first time I read it. I laughed to myself and thought: it takes our generation to think of another new word. At the time, I couldn’t relate. Several years later, I have a different perspective.

Next, I was reading another article that made fun of boomers who are weekend warriors. They don’t do anything physical all week, then they speed things up on the weekends by cycling too many miles or riding long hours on horses, leaving them stiff and sore on Monday.

Again, I laughed. But then I realized. These articles were about me. Could it be that? I remembered how I tore my ACL while playing tennis with my son one weekend. He was 18 at the time and I was, well, a boomer. He had played a little tennis that summer, walked five days a week, but was in no condition to pick up my racket and play like a kid again.

The first half hour felt great. He was going strong and I felt like I could almost keep up with him. Then I turned to run and hit a backhand, and went down. I knew what I had done because I had torn my other ACL years ago while playing soccer with the boys. Will this old lady ever learn? Sounds like I’m in good company. According to an article written by Bill Pennington and published in the New York Timessports-related injuries in baby boomers increased 33 percent between 1991 and 1998.

Since there are so many other boomers dealing with boomeritis, I thought I’d share some tips that might keep you from being the next ER patient.

Top 10 tips to avoid boomeritis

• Make sure you get enough calcium.
• Consider taking vitamin D, which helps bones absorb calcium.
• Include cardiovascular activities, exercises to stay flexible, and also do some weight training.
• Stretch before and after any physical activity.
• Consider activities like yoga, walking, swimming, and biking, which are easier on your body.
• Do something physical every day, even if it’s a short walk at lunchtime.
• Do not start a physical activity from your youth without taking the time to train at a slow pace.
• Wear the right shoes for your sport.
• Stop as soon as your body tells you to.
• See a sports medicine doctor as soon as you feel pain or discomfort.