BABY BOOMERS BATTLE SPORTS INJURIES.

• Position: Brief Article

Having a sports injury almost has become a rite of passage for many baby boomers. Those individuals are slowly realizing that they cannot always turn back the clock and avoid injury.

In fact, many boomers are getting mixed messages that exercise and staying active are the keys to maintaining youth. "Although exercise is essential for healthy aging, engaging in certain exercise and fitness programs can bring its own set of problems, especially if age-related changes have occurred in baby boomers' joints and tendons," warns Nicholas A. DiNubile, clinical assistant professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

"Many baby boomers have a `weak link' that makes them prone to injury," he notes. "A `weak link' can be an old injury, age-related structural change, or genetic predisposition. We need to educate baby boomers about what their `weak link' might be and how to engage in more sensible exercise programs that will not cause them unnecessary injuries or problems."

In the years to come, aging baby boomers are expected to help keep physicians in business partly due to the fact that most boomers are more active than the generations that preceded them. People over 35 years old are increasing their participation rate in nearly all of the sports and fitness activities reported by the National Sporting Goods Association. "We need to start addressing boomers' special medical needs now to help them prepare for the future," DiNubile indicates.

The most common type of injuries that occur to baby boomers are often the result of years of overuse to the musculoskeletal system, old injuries that recur, the normal wear and tear of tendons and joints, or muscle loss associated with aging. Orthopedic ailments such as tendinitis, bursitis, and arthritis are common among baby boomers, DiNubile points out. "There is a fourth `itis' that should be added to this particular patient population--`fix-meitis'--[since] baby boomers are desperate to resume activity as soon as possible after being...