Renewed vigor for exercise has come with a debilitating side effect: Boomeritis. This is the name health experts use to describe the parade of sore knees, back sprains, and other ailments associated with exercise-related injuries suffered by baby boomers.
The term was coined by Dr. Nicholas A. DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He remarked that there was an explosion of bone and joint aches, pains, injuries, and ailments as the Baby Boom generation began to turn 40 and 50.
The changes that occur in our bodies as we age make us vulnerable to common exerciserelated injuries.
Here are some tips to help Boomers stay physical and maintain an active healthy lifestyle:
• Start with proper warm up and balancing exercises.
• Avoid running or weight training at first.
• Focus more on low-impact exercises such as stationary biking, step machines and elliptical trainers or low-impact aerobics. You can progress to running and weight training later.
• Incorporate cross-training to relieve stress by not using the same muscles repeatedly.
