Helping Weekend Warriors Stay in the Game

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 16, 2020 - Weekend warriors take note: Bursts of high-energy athletic activity are not doing much good if you become sidelined by injury from overexertion. Overall wellness takes more than a weekend commitment. Everyone knows that regular, moderate exercise and a healthy diet are central to overall health. And a new study shows 91 percent of orthopedic specialists would add another recommendation to their patients' wellness regimens: dietary supplements.

Research from the "Life...supplemented" Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study also showed that three-quarters of orthopedists who recommend dietary supplements to patients do so for their bone and joint health (75 and 73 percent, respectively) and half do so to address musculoskeletal pain (53 percent).

"It's important to have a balance of nutrients in your system at all times to counteract deficiencies that may keep your body from being as strong as possible," says Nick Shamie, M.D., an orthopedist affiliated with the UCLA Medical Center and advisor to the "Life...supplemented" consumer wellness campaign. "A healthy diet and habitual exercise is a good prescription for wellness, but most people forget that supplement usage ties the equation together to fill in the gaps."

Close to three-quarters of orthopedists (74 percent) think that it would be helpful if their patients had a tool to assess their overall health. At www.lifesupplemented.org, consumers can determine their overall wellness using My Wellness Scorecard. It's a free and fast interactive wellness assessment tool that helps identify realistic and personalized steps people can take toward better health. Consumers should take their results to a physician to develop wellness regimens that work for them as individuals.

While a well-balanced wellness regimen that includes a healthy diet, vitamins and regular exercise is the foundation for long-term health, here are other easy steps that Dr. Shamie recommends to maximize your exercise efforts:

1. Walk more in your daily routine. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to the local shop instead of taking the car. Use your lunch break to take a walk.
2. Cross-train.  Mix things up. If you've always been a runner but your knees can no longer stand your old five-day-a-week routine, ride a bike or hop in the pool every other day instead.
3. Consider supplements. Some dietary supplements have been known to aid the body during increased physical activity, including: Fish oil (helps balance inflammation in the body), Glucosamine and Chondroitin (help foster healthy joints), Vitamin D (helps maintain strong bones), and Whey Protein (when you need an energy boost).
4. Rest. Recovery is key. Older athletes should give themselves 15 or 20 minutes between difficult sets, compared with 10 minutes for those who are younger. And build in an extra rest day during the week to allow more time to bounce back between strenuous workouts. Rest is even more important if you've got a nagging injury.

Methodology:  Results from the 2008 "Life...supplemented" HCP Impact Study went public in November 2008 and comprise three separate surveys -- 300 cardiologists, 300 dermatologists and 300 orthopedic specialists. Margins of sampling error at a 95 percent confidence level are +/- 5.7 percentage points for each of the specialty groups of healthcare professionals surveyed (dermatologists, cardiologists and orthopedic specialists). A nominal honorarium was given to each healthcare professional completing the survey. Ipsos Public-Affairs conducted the survey online. The first "Life...supplemented" HCP Impact Study of primary care physicians, OB/GYNs and nurses was conducted online in November 2007.

About the "Life...supplemented" HCP Impact Study: The study is part of the "Life... supplemented" consumer wellness campaign, which is dedicated to driving awareness about the mainstream use of dietary supplements as an integral part of a proactive personal wellness regimen that combines healthy diet, supplements and exercise. The study evaluates the personal attitudes and use of dietary supplements by healthcare professionals and whether their attitudes toward supplements affect their clinical behavior and recommendations to patients. The "Life...supplemented" campaign is managed by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the leading trade association for the dietary supplement industry. For more information: www.lifesupplemented.org.