Unfortunately, by our fortieth birthday, many people often tend to have bodily vulnerabilities due to the stresses they have placed on their muscles, bones, and joints. Some may be due to muscular injuries from a sport or athletic activity. Perhaps they had a broken hand or leg early in their childhood. Or maybe it is due to just general wear and tear on the body over the years. These weak links are fostered by the baby boomer generation pushing their bodies to their breaking point. As a result, musculoskeletal injuries are now the number one reason why people find medical care in America. Because of this growing concern, and with this phenomenon finding it's way to the mainstream media over the last couple of years, doctors and patients alike have coined boomeritis.
Baby boomers will just not slow down! No sir. They are the first generation that is actively trying to stay fit well into their fifties and sixties. They want to keep on moving with whatever physical activities they are accustomed. If they absolutely must have surgery, then once completed, you will find them right back in the same activity they were doing before the operation. Not to mention the same intensity!
This is a very motivated group of people. And they should be. After all, they know that they can prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, and high cholesterol to name a few. And that's the key. Staying physically fit. Physical exercise and movement is what keeps the body healthy and young. Boomeritis emerges when you have a constant nagging and aching of particular trouble spots on your body because of this repetitive exercise.
So what can you do to prevent boomeritis? Obviously as you age, there is more strain on the body. It just doesn't work quite like it did before. And what you have to realize is that that is alright. All is certainly not lost. You must learn to find new ways of exercising and adapting that places less of a demand on the body. This is also a great way to add variety to your workouts to combat any type of boredom.
Let's say that you are into running between six to ten miles a week. A very active lifestyle indeed. If you have been having particular knee issues perhaps you could switch to roller-blading or swimming as an alternative every other day. These two options give you just as good of a workout but place less pressure on your joints. You need to listen to your body as you keep your active lifestyle up, and make sure you are ready to welcome change when your body tells you enough of a certain exercise. This will save you a lot of discomfort down the line.
Another great example is that if you wish to add more physical exercise to your workout regiment, do so at a gradual pace to allow your body to adapt. You don't want to overwork your body because of too many variables. We'll take our above example. You don't want to do all three exercises in one day, or even in one week for that matter. Ease into your routine. Keep some running in your workout plan since that is what you enjoy most. But for the other two, you could split the time equally between the swimming and roller-blading by doing one every other day. Make it a goal for yourself to only add one new activity per workout.
Take a look at the rise of boomeritis here!
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