Older athletes are reluctant to take it easy even though their bodies have aged

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Older athletes are reluctant to take it easy even though their bodies have aged.

By Leet, Published: August 1

To a non-athlete, the list of my tennis injuries may signal that, at 62,

retirement from the game would be a very good idea: rotator-cuff injury (2001);

sprained wrist and back (2002); tennis elbow (2003); re-injured wrist (2004);

hip sprain (2005); toe surgery, back sprain (2007); re-injured rotator cuff

(2009); back spasms, rotator cuff again (2010); broken right toe, burst cyst

behind right knee, right-hip arthritis, sprained back (2011).

But to a senior athlete, pain is such a constant that is often ignored. It takes

a rapid-fire sequence of play-stopping injuries to illuminate what seems obvious

to others: An aging body demands accommodation.

" How we age is 30 percent genetics and 70 percent under our direct control, "

says orthopedic surgeon Vonda , author of " Fitness Over 40 " and director

of the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes, a University of

Pittsburgh program aimed at helping older sports enthusiasts exercise

effectively. " Baby boomers get that, and they want control — they've always

wanted control. But sports medicine doctors haven't caught on that these

athletes want to hear how to keep playing — not why to stop playing. "

" The fact is, " she adds, " a 75-year-old athlete may still perform many times

faster and be in better health than a sedentary 30- or 40-year-old. "

We senior athletes are a stubborn bunch — and there are more of us every day.

The fastest-growing demographic for fitness club membership is people over age

55, according to the International Health & Racquet Sportsclub Association. In

2005, the number of 55-and-older members was 8 million; in 2009 it was 10.3

million. Aging athletes are competing at every level, from local 10-Ks and

tournaments to elite competitions such as the Summer National Senior Games,

where in June some 10,000 athletes from ages 50 to 101 participated in 18

events, including basketball, pole vaulting and triathlon. (The 101-year-old

competed in shotput, javelin, discus and hammer throw.)

Some aging athletes come to competition later in life, such as Lathram, a

96-year-old Falls Church woman who began swimming for fitness at 64, started

competing at 65 and set a world record in the 200-meter backstroke at 92. Some

are athletes who never stopped, such as 48-year-old marathon runner and

orthopedic surgeon Ben Kittredge of andria, who has kept running since

college — eight miles a day, seven days a week. Many others are like me, former

teen athletes who compete intermittently as adults. I led my tennis team at the

University of Georgia from 1967 to 1971 and still qualify for teams at the

highest local amateur level.

With age, however, comes an increased risk of injury, says orthopedic surgeon

elli, a former collegiate basketball player. " For instance, ankle

sprains become less prevalent, while fractures become more likely with the same

injury. Rotator-cuff tears increase in incidence over age 40 and are almost

unheard of in the under-20 group. "

High expectations

Yet doctors are seeing more injured senior athletes with high expectations.

" When I started practice 24 years ago, if a 60-year-old walked into my office

I'd assume they were lost, " says Branche III, an orthopedic surgeon with

a sports medicine specialty in Arlington.

" The changes in medical technology since the 1980s have been huge and made

things possible that were impossible before, " notes Branche, who specializes in

knee and shoulder surgery. Yet many orthopedic surgeons resist repairing some

joints on athletes over age 60, urging them to accept joint replacement or

reduced activity.

Many athletes complain that some medical professionals still dispense outdated

advice, such as total rest to heal an injury rather than continuing to condition

other muscles that can safely be exercised. Sports medicine experts such as

Marje Albohm, president of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, contend

that continued exercise of healthy areas is a sound principle of conditioning.

Part of the problem, says Vonda , is that most research on what

middle-aged and older people can do physically is based on relatively sedentary

populations, which calls into question its relevance for actively athletic

adults.

Branche understands the disconnect between senior athletes who want to be

repaired and the reluctance of some doctors to perform certain surgeries on

them. " On one hand, an older competitor must acknowledge that just because a

fellow athlete was able to have surgery to repair an injury does not mean that

he or she will be able to do so, " Branche says. " On the other hand, surgeons

need to recognize that continuous improvements in medical technology and the

greater fitness of some of today's older athletes may mean they should consider

surgery they might not have 15, 20 years ago. "

Of course, the best advice is to reduce the risk of injury in the first place.

The key is being mindful — and respectful — of the changes that occur as one

ages.

Getting to first base

A plethora of factors influence the maintenance of conditioning and the rate of

decline — factors such as the ability to train intensely, skeleton size, body

fat composition, joint mobility, strength, endurance and coordination. For

example, age-related decline in strength can be partially offset by resistance

training, so a softball player with strong legs and hips can still sprint fast

enough to beat the throw to first base. However, if that player has poor joint

mobility in the hips or knees, acceleration may diminish despite his or her

strength, according to elli.

Vigorous conditioning can mitigate declines in strength and aerobic capacity,

according to . Senior athletes can also lessen the chances of injury

through such steps as cross-training and taking sufficient rest time between

intense workouts.

Still, having expert knowledge and keeping yourself in shape doesn't insure one

against injury. Even Branche, 55, who does fitness training twice a week and

plays tennis three times a week (often with men two decades younger) found

himself sprawled on the court at the McLean Racquet Club last fall, victim of a

burst quadriceps tendon. After surgery and six months of therapy, Branche, once

a nationally competitive amateur tennis player, is back on the court. He fully

expects to continue at least as long as his father did — well into his 70s.

" Tennis is in my blood, " he says. " Playing the sport gives me an extra good

feeling of competition as opposed to having my exercise centered solely on

fitness and conditioning. As I have gotten older, the fitness and conditioning

aspect becomes more important in continuing to play tennis. "

Leet is an Arlington-based communications and management consultant who recently

started the blog More Fit After 40.

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