GET BACK TO MOVING
Resuming healthy habits can work in your favor
People are out and about more normally again, and gyms have been reopened for a while, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is back to their old physical fitness regimens.
The length of time that many were sedentary and confined to their homes has made it difficult for some to get back on track.
Dr. Stephen Longenecker, medical director of Reading Hospital Joint Care Center and board certified by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, has witnessed this among many older patients at his orthopedic practice.
“When I ask them, ‘How are you doing with your knee pain and what are you doing for activity?’ it is surprising how many people reduced their activity because of COVID and got out of a routine,” he said. “It’s hard to get back into that routine.”
Pre-COVID, Longenecker’s patients used to meet their friends for lunch and go to the gym regularly. Instead, he is now finding he has to steer patients to physical therapy to help get their routine back.
“A lot of time it’s reeducating and helping them be aware,” he said. “We are encouraging people to get into a routine — to write down and remember what you did or start something new — the opportunities are out there.”
He has also seen that remote at-home work environments for those in their 40s and 50s are taking a toll for the worse.
“I have a fair number of middle-aged people where their work environment changed,” he said, adding that since they are at home they don’t get as much movement in a given day as they used to. “I have seen a fair number of 40- and 50-year-olds with injuries from being more sedentary.”
Stretching at home, along with small tasks such as walking out to the car or taking small walks around the house can be beneficial your orthopedic health. (Free public domain)Longenecker emphasized the importance for seniors, in particular, to get moving again. And while getting back to the gym is ideal, you don’t have to take part in an organized workout to reap benefits. Things like walk
ing to the car, picking up the newspaper on the front stoop, a stretch routine or taking small walks around the house can work in your favor.
“Ten small activities are better than a full hour with a physical therapist,” he said. “It’s the small things that really do add up and are important and healthy.”
Longenecker said that fall prevention is a big topic in the world of orthopedics.
“That is working on balance exercises and working on stretches,” he said. “I met with one of the home health agencies the other day, and they do home visits just to look at the environment to make sure the environment is safe.”
As we age, the house we live in might not have changed, but we as individuals have.
“You might put a rail in the bathroom or put away the throw rug,” he said. “The prevention of fall is big in our world, and that comes through those little exercises specific to balance and adapting your environment to your advanced age.”
During COVID, people also got off track with their routines of getting their injections and surgeries.
“We did see an influx of people with untreated arthritic concerns, and I think that is starting to level off now that people are back in their routine of getting their injections and surgeries,” he said.
For those requiring surgery, Longenecker, an orthopedic surgery specialist, said there is a growing number of people requiring hip and knee replacements. Less are in need of shoulder replacement.
“The success of hip and knee replacement has really increased,” he said. “In the past two to five years we have picked up the advanced technologies that really enhance precision and outcomes due to robotic and computer assisted capabilities.”
Longenecker said patients are less likely to have a bad outcome after surgery due to their medical preoperative optimization initiative.
“We give 10 good health parameters to make you safe for surgery,” he said of the parameters that are to be followed prior to the procedure taking place.
Overall, Longenecker suggests it’s best not to jump right into surgery and to steer clear of costly, outof-pocket unproven remedies such as stem cells for arthritis that he said still aren’t supported by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
“Make sure you feel good about asking your doctor what is a good alternative to surgery,” he said, adding that a safe non-opioid medicine might be one such route that could serve as a more conservative form of treatment than surgery. “Ask your doctor and don’t pay for things out of pocket.”
If surgery is deemed the best route, Longeneceker said that less invasive procedures mean people will get them done earlier in their lives, which is more beneficial than getting a bigger procedure done at a time when they are older and more vulnerable.
“Less invasive surgery will be done earlier making the big reconstructive surgery not as necessary,” Longenecker said.