Fitness Culture fuels Orthopedic Medicine for Boomer Generation

Over 40 years, Bob Niebuhr learned that handball doesn’t have to be a young man’s game — that an old man can deliciously keep a young man running around the court by swatting the ball with the proper power, precision and geo­metry. So when Niebuhr, 68, saw the doctor last week for a checkup after his second hip replacement, he had one burning question:

“How about handball?”

Niebuhr’s passion helps explain the explosive growth of Twin Cities clinics specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine. Minnesota has seen some $66 million in capital projects related to orthopedic care between 2008 and 2012.

And it is why the Mayo Clinic — after years of flirting with a medical presence in the Twin Cities — broke through last week with the announcement of a downtown Minneapolis sports medicine center in league with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“The growth is being driven by a more active population, whether that happens to be in competitive sports or fitness activities,” said Dr. Michael Stuart, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, who is in Sochi now as team doctor for USA Hockey. “I have a 65-year-old patient who plays 120 softball games a year.”

Across the Twin Cities, orthopedic clinics report booming business.

At St. Croix Orthopaedics in Stillwater, visits to urgent care more than doubled from its first year, 2012, to last year. At the TRIA orthopedic center in Bloomington, half the injury patients are athletes — many of whom line up at the walk-in clinic in football pads or jogging outfits.

“You walk over to our acute injury clinic, and you will see athletes with three or four different letter jackets on,” said Ted Wegleitner, TRIA’s chief operating officer.

The growth appears at the margins of the age spectrum, with children suffering the breaks and strains of high-level sports participation, and older adults wearing out joints after decades of running, biking or — in Niebuhr’s case — lunging after rubber balls.

“It was hard to turn my hips, and it was painful to hit the ball and follow through and to move,” said Niebuhr, who learned handball at college in La Crosse, Wis. “When you play you’re moving side to side, up and back, diagonally, you know? I would move back and really feel it.”

‘Will I be able to ski?’

Sports has always been a seductive market for business — sometimes to excess, considering reports that the Twin Cities area is oversaturated with golf courses and sports training domes.

The key question is whether Mayo’s venture will cater to an expanding market of athletes, young and old, or just intensify competition in a community where TRIA, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Summit Orthopedics, the University of Minnesota and St. Croix are among the major players.

The growing intensity of youth sports has contributed to the trend, as children specialize in their chosen sports and become prone to overuse injuries, sprains and concussions.

Stuart said there has been “quite an epidemic” of young female athletes with disruptions to their anterior cruciate ligaments, the so-called ACLs that regulate knee motion.

But it is the size and attitude of the baby boomer generation that have orthopedic center leaders confident there will be enough patients to go around. The Greatest Generation of adults, born in the first half of the 20th century, might have accepted the need to slow down, but the boomers born in the 1950s and 1960s have not, said Dr. David Fischer, an orthopedic surgeon who co-founded TRIA in 2005.




“Where our parents would have accepted a bad knee and changed their activities, this population in large part doesn’t want to do that,” he said. “They’re asking ‘Will I be able to play tennis? Will I be able to ski?’ ”

Generally, he added, their expectations are “reasonable.”
Dr. Michael Meisterling of St. Croix Orthopedics winced after his patient, Niebuhr, asked about handball after two hip replacements. But the doctor told him he could slowly return to the sport, though it might wear out his new implants.

“The new hips have a 25-year shelf life,” Niebuhr said. “In 25 years, I’ll be 94 years old. If I’m still playing handball and I need a new hip when I’m 94, I’ll go for it.”

In reality, Niebuhr plans to back off handball just a bit — there’s always golf and sledding with his two grandchildren.

The rise in obesity has also contributed to the increase in joint problems — sometimes in combination with athletics as people exercise to lose weight.

Every 15 pounds of excess weight puts 100 pounds more pressure on the body’s joints, said Melanie Sullivan, chief executive officer for St. Croix Orthopaedics.

“If you’re 45 pounds overweight, your force is 300 pounds more than what you would normally put on your joints.”

Training like a pro

Already, the clinics are competing for patients. TRIAL and Twin Cities Orthopedics duel for patients with facilities and walk-in clinics that are 2 miles apart on France Avenue. The Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, which will open in 2015 across from Target Center, will include some form of walk-in clinic that will concentrate on downtown dwellers and commuters, Stuart said.

“There are a lot of people that work downtown,” he said, “and they don’t have this type of convenient opportunity to be evaluated, treated, rehabbed by any facility that is connected by skyway to … their offices.”

Aligning with high-profile sports teams can be a marketing advantage. TRIA’s Fischer has been team doctor for the Timberwolves since the team’s inception in 1989. Mayo announced it will be taking on that role.

That kind of relationship wasn’t lost on patients such as Scott Weyer, 67, of Prior Lake. While he researched the volume and quality of knee procedures at facilities as well, he was first drawn to TRIA because it treated athletes from the Twins, Wild and Vikings.

“You hear about these players that get this done to them and that done to them, and then they’re back on the field,” said Weyer, who wanted a knee procedure to stay mobile at his manufacturing job and on hiking trips with his wife. “I figured these guys must know what they are doing.”

In addition to surgery and injury treatment, clinics are creating programs to help athletes prevent injuries and physical therapy to help them recover after an operation. TRIA’s physical therapy program has grown 45 percent in three years, and it recently added equipment such as baseball netting so therapists can work with players on throwing mechanics.

Mayo will emphasize prevention and athletic performance as well, Stuart said.

“Athletes are looking to improve their strength and balance and conditioning — and how to think the game as well as reaction time and vision and nutrition,” he said. “Elite athlete are really looking for that kind of improvement, but so are a lot of competitive and recreational athletes.”

Article Source:  Olson, Jeremy. "Sports Culture Fuels Orthopedics Boom." Sports Culture Fuels Orthopedics Boom. StarTribune Media Company, LLC., 09 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.

Sisterhood is powerful incentive to use Women's Gyms

(Reuters) - Women-only gyms, once seen as the exercise alternative for out of shape women of a certain age, are actively shedding that reputation, fitness experts say.

Young, professional women are discovering that female-only fitness zones can be what a morning of golf or shooting the hoops is to their male counterparts: a chance to network, negotiate and bond while working out.

"Men have been combining fitness and a social aspect for ages, doing business and creating relationships at the same time," said Leanne Shear, trainer and founder of Uplift Studios, a boutique women-only venue in Manhattan.

"Women have not, to their detriment."

Shear said her studio, which opened in 2012, attracts professional women in their 20's, 30's and 40's, and aims to provide a social atmosphere where they can come together as a community.

As for the workouts, Shear believes that while women are certainly capable of doing everything that men do, many find the gym equipment in weight rooms bulky, off-putting and ill-suited to them.

Equipment in Shear's studio includes an elliptical machine with a smaller stride better suited to women, and instead of huge plates and bars, there are lots of dumbbells, balls, balancing equipment and body weight exercises.

A 2014 report by International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) showed that while health club members are equally likely to be male or female, what they do when they visit the club differs considerably.

LESS INTIMIDATING

Women are more likely to gravitate to group exercise classes, Pilates, stretching, yoga, boot camps, and cardiovascular exercise machines, while men are drawn to free weights, resistance machines and sports such as racquetball and squash.

Curves International, Inc., the large chain of fitness centers for women, is known for its 30-minute circuit of cardio, strength and stretching training.

Hannah Karass, vice president of programs and science for Curves, said the circuit is in a circle for a reason.

"The members face each other, help each other," she explained.

Karass said Curves has initiated a rigorous high intensity interval training workout designed by trainer Jillian Michaels, of the TV reality show "The Biggest Loser," to attract younger women.

Karass, 50, believes women's gyms are simply less intimidating than co-ed clubs.

"I think of myself in a big co-ed gym," she said. "If I work with a 10-pound (4.5 kg) dumbbell and I see men lifting 25, there is an emotional reaction."

Dr. Barbara Bushman, of the American College of Sports Medicine, said both sexes require a balanced exercise program of aerobic activity, resistance training, and flexibility and, for older adults, balance and agility.

"To me the women-only gym fits into the enjoyment aspect," she said. "If someone feels more comfortable in that environment and that helps them to stick with their program better, it's a great thing."

She added that women tend to lag behind men in resistance training, which is important for bone health. Being properly fitted on standard machines can also be difficult for smaller women.

"At university I was only female in weight room," said Bushman, whose 5ft 10-inch height mitigated the sizing issue. "It wasn't an environment that welcomed women."

Shear sees women-only venues as a place where women are free to work their hardest without feeling self-conscious or trying to impress the opposite sex.

"The workouts are just as hard and intense as any man's," she said.

Article Source:   Internicola, Dorene. "Sisterhood Shown to Be Powerful Incentive at Women's Gyms."Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

8 Habits that are messing with your Metabolism

A few little tweaks can help you max out your calorie burn

You exercise, and you try to eat right. But unfortunately you may still be slowing down your calorie burn—and your weight-loss efforts—without even realizing it. Lauren Slayton, M.S., R.D., author of The Little Book of Thin explains the little-known metabolism wreckers that are holding you back—and how you can burn more calories ASAP.

1. You Don't Drink Enough Water:
   "Your body needs fluids to perform all of the functions it needs to," says Slayton. And when it's not performing those functions as well, it's not burning as many calories. Something else to keep in mind: A lot of the calorie burn from drinking water comes from your body working to bring cold water to 98.6 degrees—so drinking hot water with lemon or hot tea all the time won't be as good at boosting your metabolism as cold water will.
2. You Aren't Taking Vitamin D Supplements
   "When you're low in vitamin D, you lose weight slower and your levels of the hormone ghrelin, which makes you hungry, are higher," says Slayton. Since it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D from your diet, she recommends taking a supplement from November through March—when you won't be getting as much of the nutrient from sunlight—to help you drop pounds more easily.
3. You're a Cardio Queen
   You know that exercise is crucial for keeping your metabolism fired up, but if you swear by running or indoor cycling—and only running or indoor cycling—you're not building the lean muscle that'll really give your metabolism a boost, says Slayton. Start incorporating strength training into your workouts to up your calorie burn even more.
4. You Have a Midnight Snack Habit
   There's a lot of emphasis on how important it is to eat regularly so as not to slow your metabolism down, but there's also research that suggests going several hours without eating could be better for you, metabolically speaking. "What I usually suggest for clients is a period of 12 hours without food," says Slayton. "You're hurting your metabolism if you're having a midnight snack and a breakfast before your workout at 7 a.m."
5. You Cut Caffeine Out of Your Diet
   Caffeine gets a bad rap, but it can actually give your calorie burn a slight boost, says Slayton. No one's suggesting you start pounding the stuff, but if you're already drinking green tea or coffee most days, keeping it a part of your routine could help your metabolism run at top speed. 
6. You Skimp on Sleep
   People who are sleep-deprived on a regular basis tend to weigh more than those who get a good night's rest most nights. Why? Research shows it can throw the hormones that control appetite out of whack, making you hungrier and causing you to eat more. Slayton recommends logging at least seven hours a night.
7. You're Constantly Stressed
   It's not just unpleasant to be anxiety-ridden—it's also bad for your metabolism: "Cortisol's a big stress hormone, and when that's activated, your body's more likely to be in fat-storage mode," says Slayton. On edge lately? Try one of these 40 ways to relax in five minutes or less.
8. You're Consuming Too Many Pesticides—and Eating Off of Plastic
   "If you really feel like you're doing everything right and not seeing progress, it's worth looking at where you're getting your food from and what's being sprayed on your food," says Slayton. Some of the chemicals in plastics and pesticides are endocrine disruptors called obesogens, which can set you up for weight gain.

Article Source:  Hilmantel, Robin. "8 Habits That Are Messing with Your Metabolism."Womenshealthmag.com. Rodale Inc., 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.