Olympic legacy sees more than five million British adults take up sports this summer

A summer of sport has already resulted in a positive legacy with over five million more GB adults inspired to take up exercise, of which almost a fifth (907,000) of these people are aged 45 or over, according to a study commissioned by Tissue Regenix Group.

The study follows suggestions by Lord Coe,  chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, that the current generation of parents are likely to be the first to be fitter than their children.  But Tissue Regenix is warning the quest to remain healthy comes with its own risks with a fifth of those who have taken up sport over the summer having already suffered an injury – a potentially unwanted legacy of the Olympics.

Likewise, over the last 12 months almost one in ten of GB adults have suffered an injury as a direct result of taking part in sport and other activity and of these, 1.15 million are people aged 45 or over.  According to the NHS, the rise in middle-aged sportsmen and women is likely to result in a 20 per cent increase in knee replacement surgery within ten years, with around 7,000 knee replacements currently undertaken. 

But Tissue Regenix says that a serious injury is not the end of the sporting career for many of these so-called MASTERS (‘Middle Aged Sports, Training & Exercise Re-Starters’).

Antony Odell, Managing Director, Tissue Regenix said: “Whilst it’s fantastic that so many people have been inspired to take up sport this summer, inevitably some will injure themselves, but this need not sound the end of their sporting renaissance.  Medical advances are coming such that damaged knees and shoulders can be easily repaired or replaced without the need for repetitive invasive surgery.”

The top five sports/activities that British adults have been inspired to take up this summer are:

Rank	Sport/activity	Number of GB adults taking up each sport	Rank	Sport/activity	Number of ‘MASTERS’ taking up each sport Comment on this Article
1	Walking	1.9 million	1	Walking	537,000
2	Swimming	1.7 million	2	Swimming	206,000
3	Running	1.6 million	3	Cycling	171,000
4	Football	1.4 million	4	Gym	159,000
5	Gym	1.2 million	5	Football	102,000

Unsurprisingly, those adults who have taken up running over this summer are the most likely to have suffered an injury, followed by football and swimming.  But “budding Bradleys” should also beware as 7 per cent of those who have taken up cycling over the summer have suffered an injury, according to Tissue Regenix.

*News Source Femalefirst.co.uk

http://www.vigour.co.uk

Barred From The Games By Tainted Supplements

Among the victims of tainted dietary supplements are athletes whose careers were derailed or interrupted after they tested positive for banned substances.

Swimmer Jessica Hardy, 25, who earned a gold medal and a bronze medal at the London Games, missed the 2008 Olympics after tests found clenbuterol, an asthma treatment that also is used to enhance sports performance.

Hardy said she unwittingly consumed the compound in a supplement, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Arbitrators accepted evidence that her supplement was contaminated but suspended her for a year anyway.

Another American swimmer, Kicker Vencill, tested positive for small amounts of 19-norandrosterone a few months before he was to compete in the 2003 Pan-American Games. Laboratory testing pointed to a contaminated multivitamin.

Although the supplement company later contested the lab reports, a sports arbitration panel ruled that Vencill did not know he was taking a banned substance. It also found him responsible for everything going into his body regardless.

He was given a two-year suspension from competing and missed his chance to try out for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, effectively ending a competitive swimming career he began at age 5.

From his home in California, Vencill, now 34, said he watched this year's Olympic swimming events with some sadness over what might have been.

"It is hard to watch to a degree," he said. "There is a sense of sadness in my heart; that is something I have to live with the rest of my life. There is a cruel reminder that I missed out on one of the greatest opportunities of my life. There are greater joys in life. There are greater tragedies in life. But there is part of me that kind of, that died a little bit with that."

Vencill settled with the supplement company that sold the multivitamin. He is now a lifeguard paramedic on Venice Beach, Calif., and gives talks on behalf of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to athletes about what he calls "the cruel realities of the supplement industry."

"I am living proof of the horrors of it," he said.

News Source - Chicago Tribune

Losing Weight With Minimal Effort

The desire to lose unwanted weight or fat is a requirement for most of us during some or most of our lives.

The media will periodically expose the latest celebrity diet that miraculously sheds weight with minimal effort other than drinking a strange concoction, using sports supplements only or devouring baby food.

Many of us lead hectic lives and naturally look for a quick fix to an age long problem.  The solution however, which applies to most bodily issues and function, is the application or regular exercise and a balanced diet.

For most, our personal knowledge and willingness to learn of what we consume and its nutritional value is lacking.

Once certain dietary habits are broken, or at least limited and understood, then effective weight management can be achieved.

Regular exercise alongside complimentary sports supplements, in particular protein (I.e Maximuscle Promax), can then be used to reach bodily goals.