Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Orthopedic Or Cardiac: Boomeritis and You

I must admit: the news made me feel like a wimp. Proudly bearing the scars of six knee operations, I gamely explained the reasons I could no longer race the Boston Marathon which was coming up on Monday.
"You see," I managed with just a hint of grimace," these knees just couldn't take the strain of high-level competition over a lifetime..." My listener had already moved away, pretending to study a sudden outcropping of crabgrass in my lawn. The truth was, nobody was interested in six knee operations in someone my age. "That's ALL?" I could almost hear them say?
Boomeritis is the latest phenomenon, according to doctors and the New York Times.
Those of us born between 1946 and 1964 (check your driver's license if you're not sure. Someone can hold it far enough away if you need) are heading to the doctors' offices in record numbers, but not for what one might suspect. We have, perhaps singlehandedly, caused the explosion in the medical world of treatment for sports injuries. We are an active bunch, most of the reported 78 million of us in this particular cohort. We actively exercise 3-5 times a week then head off to the orthopedist! Sports injuries were the #2 cause of doctors' visits in 2003: right behind the common cold, according to the National Ambulatory Medical Care people. In the 7 ears between 1991 and 1998, Boomers (not including Chris Berman or George Scott) had 488 million days of restricted work due to sports-related injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission claims this to be a 33% increase.
Standard injuries occur to knees, shoulders, hips and lower backs. This information pumped me up a little because I only have knee problems...well, there's that plantar fascitis thing and a slight case of CRS at times, but I can live with those.
So why are we continuing to do such things to ourselves? We've cut down smoking and alcohol consumption (Lent was longer than usual this year), but we continue to physically damage ourselves with exercise.
Here are some theories:
1. We as a generation are highly motivated and refuse to give up. We steadfastly cling to the belief that we remain 25.

2. The divorce rate continues to rise. Now this might seem a bit far-fetched to you, but it makes sense to me. We are self-presenters as humans. If we are trying
to hook up with someone new, washboard abs are a MUST! Plus, a knee brace is an
effective conversation starter.

3. Our generation started the Presidential Fitness program, and we were the first generation, really, with a lifestyle which lent itself to enough leisure time to consider fitness. My dad used to say, " I don't have to exercise, boy, I work for a living." The same might not be true of us, but we seem to be obsessing about it.

4. Medical advances make repair easier. We might not be Steve Austin, but we grew up watching him: bigger than he was, stronger, better. We've the technology; we can be rebuilt. Or so it seems. I know that I felt that way until the day the orthopedist told me that to continue running would end my walking days prematurely.

While one might think that all of the knee and hip replacements, surgical repairs for cartilage and ligament damage and assorted medical procedures might prove a boon to the medical profession, there is a dark cloud looming: Medicare. As a higher percentage of the operations get covered by Medicare due to the patients' ages, doctors are going to like it less and less. Afer all, Medicare doesn't exactly pay the best. Soon we may see signs in waiting rooms like: "If you are over 65 and have a sports-related issue, bring your checkbook or go elsewhere." Needless to say, there won't be a senior discount for procedures.

So...choose your poison: cardiac problems or orthopedic problems. For the boomers among us, there seems to be no middle ground. Our intensely competitive nature has put us in a situation in which we are our own worst enemies while trying to be our own best friends. Can full-contact canasta be far behind?

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