Jan. 10, 2007
 
Fall Down, Go Boomer
 
By Cynthia Hubert
Sacramento Bee
 

It seems that Arnold Schwarzenegger, still buff at 59, is suffering from "boomeritis," the plethora of problems affecting athletes who are past 40 but insist on playing like they're in their 20s. (SHNS illustration by Susan Ballenger / The Sacramento Bee)

Perhaps "The Terminator" should switch to Pilates.
 
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has set the standard for fitness while occupying office, also has had some high-profile injuries.
 
On Dec. 23, a ski mishap left him with a fractured femur that had to be surgically repaired. Last year, a motorcycle accident left him with a fat lip, 15 stitches and a bruised ego. The former Mr. Universe probably should have learned his lesson in 2001 when he fractured six ribs in a motorcycle crash.
 
It seems that Schwarzenegger, still buff at 59, is suffering from "boomeritis," the plethora of problems that affect athletes who are past 40 but insist on playing like they're in their 20s.
 
"People today are staying fit as they age, and that's good," said Jill Jackson, head athletic trainer for the Women's National Basketball Association's Sacramento Monarchs and a physical therapy assistant. But if you're middle-aged or beyond, participation requires preparation, even for a former champion body builder.
 
"A lot of big, strong, muscular men probably think they can't get hurt," Jackson said. "But as you get older, flexibility is an issue, and warming up is really important."
 
Otherwise you might end up in the hospital, like Schwarzenegger.
 
The governor was hardly hot-dogging it when he suffered his ski injury, reported an instructor who was with him in Sun Valley, Idaho, that day. The instructor said Schwarzenegger was standing still when he tripped over a ski pole and fell -- a highly unusual way to break such a large bone, according to doctors. He underwent surgery on his femur and is hobbling around on crutches.
 
Amateur athletes of the baby boom generation are keeping medical offices and emergency rooms busy, studies show. A Bureau of Labor Statistics survey found that infirmities associated with athletic activities among middle-aged adults caused 488 million days of restricted work in 2002. Sports injuries among baby boomers increased a whopping 33 percent in the 1990s, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
 
"I see a lot of boomers with athletic injuries," said Dr. Meredith Bean, director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Sacramento.
 
Some are former athletes suffering from the long-term effects of overusing their muscles and joints, she said. Others are aging weekend warriors who, in their minds, can still play quarterback, run the tennis court or hit the slopes the way they did in high school. Many end up with ruptured tendons, blown-out knees and broken wrists and ankles.
 
"Boomers are the first generation of Americans who have remained very active and athletic into middle age," said Bean. Eventually, she said, those activities "catch up with them. There's a lot of wear and tear on their tendons and cartilage" and an increased risk of serious injury.
 
What's a boomer to do?
 
Keep moving but do it carefully.
 
The benefits of fitness in middle age "far outweigh the risks" of suffering an injury, said Bean, who is 35 and enjoys mountain biking, skiing and running. "The good news is that anyone of any age who is planning on participating in athletic activities can do some conditioning to decrease their risks."
 
As we get older, we lose strength and flexibility in our muscles and tendons, leaving us more vulnerable to strains, pulls and rips, Bean and others said. Bones can become less dense and more susceptible to breaks. Eyesight wanes and reactions slow, setting us up for falls. Perhaps that's why baby boomer President Bush has been having trouble staying on his bicycle lately, having crashed into a constable in Scotland earlier this year and fallen from his mountain bike in 2004.
 
Boomers who work out for perhaps 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and include some strength training such as lifting light weights "are a lot less likely" to get hurt than their sedentary peers, said Bean.
 
Yoga and Pilates classes, which are now available on video and in gyms, are good ways to prepare the "core" muscles in the center of the body for intense exercise, experts said. They also help improve balance and reduce the risk of back injury. Stretching before intense exercise such as skiing or snowboarding also is essential.
 
Boomers who are less athletic but want to stay in shape should "find something they really like to do and stick to it," said Bean. "Start out with low-impact exercises and build up your strength and flexibility before you try a sport.
 
"When I go skiing . . . I see tons of people in their 70s and even 80s," she said. "But that's not something I would recommend for an older person who hasn't done it in a while. For them, there are less risky ways to get exercise."
 
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.