Aging bodies need TLC - and exercise

Nicholas DiNubile ("Dr. Nick"), chief of orthopedic surgery at Delaware County Memorial Hospital specializing in sports medicine, coined "boomeritis" to describe the musculoskeletal weak links that can trouble us as we age. As warmer weather beckons us outdoors, he spoke to Inquirer columnist Art Carey about ways to become active and fit without damaging your body.

 Question: What's the biggest mistake people make when they resume exercising after a winter layoff?

DiNubile: Doing too much too soon with a body that should have been trained all year long. You shouldn't take a vacation from exercise. I recommend the 10 Percent Rule: Don't ramp up your mileage or weightlifting more than 10 percent per week.

Q: What's the best thing you can do to prevent injury?

DiNubile: Seek balance - equal amounts of cardio, strength-building, core, and flexibility exercise. Factor in your weak links, and pick routines that are right for you.

Q: What's your opinion of barefoot running?

DiNubile: It's trouble, especially for older athletes. People need more, not less, shock absorption.

Q: What's the essential message of your best-selling book, FrameWork, and the related PBS special?

DiNubile: There's a mismatch between longevity and durability. If you're lucky and have the right genes and take care of yourself, longevity is not an issue. It's durability that's the big problem for many of us in the second half. Life expectancy has doubled, but evolution hasn't caught up, and we're outliving the warranty on our frame, wearing out our body parts.

Q: What do you mean by boomeritis?

DiNubile: It's shorthand for our weak links and vulnerabilities, the gray hair and wrinkles of the musculoskeletal system.

Q: Should we be doing push-ups and pounding the pavement after age 60?

DiNubile: It's a matter of finding and respecting your limits. If you have a torn rotator cuff, you shouldn't be doing heavy or explosive overhead weight training. If you have arthritis in your knees, you shouldn't run marathons.

Q: Do you endorse "no pain, no gain"?

DiNubile: It's not a great mantra or second-half strategy. Your body's reparative capacity dwindles with age; it takes longer to heal and to recover from workouts. Pain is an important warning signal. There's a difference between hurting and harming.

 Q: You're an advocate of "3-D fitness." What's that?

DiNubile: It means using and moving your body outside of the gym, engaging in activities that are spontaneous, unpredictable, and fun and that involve balance, agility, and hand-eye coordination.

Q: What sort of exercise should we be doing more of?

DiNubile: Core work. A strong, stable core significantly reduces force and stress across the joints.

Q: If you were exiled to a desert island, what exercise equipment would you take?

DiNubile: Elastic bands, a stability ball, and a variable-weight dumbbell.

Q: Is there a "fountain of youth"?

DiNubile: Exercise. No question about it. Much of what we've traditionally thought of as aging has more to do with inactivity and sedentary behavior, such as muscle and agility loss. And much of that is preventable and reversible.

Q: What misinformation would you like to dispel?

DiNubile: The notion that stretching doesn't help or that it causes injuries. That's insane. Stretching done properly will never harm anyone. I see so many ailments where tight muscles are a factor.

Also, the myth that women who engage in strength training will become muscle-bound. Very few women have enough testosterone to grow big muscles. In truth, women and the elderly need strength training more than the front line of the Eagles.

Q: What do you, at age 58, do to stay physically active and get exercise?

DiNubile: I play tennis a couple of times a week at a high level. I also like hitting with somebody who's good so that I'm drenched at the end. I go to the gym twice a week for aerobic exercise and strength training, and I play and do lots of physical stuff with my two kids.

Q: What parts of your body bother you?

DiNubile: My left knee, which I injured playing football, and my low back, which has been behaving better lately thanks to a heavy core program.

Q: If we live long enough, we're all going to break down eventually. Tell me some good news.

DiNubile: In 20 years, instead of being primarily reparative, orthopedic medicine will be more regenerative. Instead of being Mr. Fixit and patching everything up with duct tape, we'll be able to regenerate your torn rotator cuff or meniscus, restore and resurface a worn-out knee. The future is bright.

Q: Final words of wisdom?

DiNubile: It's never too late to change your fate. It's not so much about the cards you're dealt as the choices you make and your attitude. The power of the mind to affect healing and recovery is so underestimated.

To see a video of Nicholas DiNubile demonstrating stretching techniques, go to www.philly.com/stretchEndText