Download original article: Media:Baby_Boomers_Stay_Active.pdf

Baby Boomers Stay Active, and So Do Their Doctors

'

The first generation to grow up in a culture of exercise, baby boomers are

now taking their exercise routines well into their retirement years. Due to

the strains and stresses of exercise, boomers are also filling their doctor’s

offices requiring medical assistance for exercise related injuries—a

phenomenon dubbed: boomeritis. Infirmities resulting from exercise related

activities were responsible for 488 million days of restricted work in 2002.

From 1991 to 1998 sports related injuries resulting in emergency room

visits for boomers rose 33%. Some speculate that increased divorce rates

may be spurring some to stay in the gym. They are a generation who

expect technology to answer their dilemmas, as boomers seek more

complex surgeries. Hopes of preventing cardiac disease, diabetes, and

Alzheimer’s motivate some boomers to stay active. Organizations like

NATA (www.nata.org) and AACS (www.orthoinfo.org) are encouraging

boomers to stay active, but to also modify their routines so as to account

for the risks of aging.¹

¹ Pennington, Bill. “Baby Boomers Stay Active, and So Do Their Doctors”

The New York Times. 16 April 2006. Aug. 2008

< http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/sports/16boomers.html>