Embracing Healthy Aging: Insights from Orthopaedic Sports Surgeon Vonda Wright, MD
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Vonda Wright, MD, a renowned Orthopaedic Sports Surgeon and mobility expert, as she shares valuable insights on embracing healthy aging. Discover the groundbreaking stem cell research she conducted on satellite cells and their impact on muscle maintenance and longevity. Dr. Wright discusses her upcoming book, "Strong: Four Steps to Body Brains and Bliss” which empower individuals to prioritize their health and make informed choices. Learn about her collaboration on "Roadmap to Raising Healthy Athletes," advocating for children's long-term participation in sports. Gain a fresh perspective on joint replacements as Dr. Wright dispels fears and highlights their effectiveness in enhancing quality of life. Get inspired and motivated to invest in your health as Dr. Wright emphasizes the importance of proactive self-care and embracing a forward-looking mindset.
More on VONDA WRIGHT, MD
Website: https://www.drvondawright.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrVonda/
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Quotes:
“We are not just one single tissue type. We are a whole person, and I learned that at a very young age by taking care of people who are in the struggle of their lives.” -Vonda Wright, MD
“You can choose to be healthy, vital, active, and joyful by investing every day in your mobility because, of the 34 chronic diseases that we die of, the only pill that touches all 34 diseases is mobility.” -Vonda Wright, MD
“It's not a new skill. Even my little grandson is trying to pull himself up. It is genetically prescribed to us to get up on our feet and move.” -Vonda Wright, MD
Show Notes:
Dr. Vonda Wright: I'm a double boarded orthopedic surgeon. And by training, my fellowship was in sports medicine.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Saving people from the ravages of chronic disease is the reason I get up in the morning, frankly.
Dr. Vonda Wright: If you are a woman of middle age and you come to me with shoulder pain, we are very likely going to be talking about your hormones and your sleep and your brain fog. If you're a man of any age and you're bursting tendons all over the place, we're going to start talking about your testosterone
Dr. Vonda Wright: This is the myth that aging is an inevitable decline from the vitality of youth down a slippery slope to frail and dead during which we spend 20 years dying.
Dr. Vonda Wright: The only pill that touches all 34 diseases is mobility.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I think people get stuck at the gate when they say, Oh, I'm not a pro athlete, I'm not a even a high level recreational. I can't remember the last time I, I, you know, really propelled myself. Listen, there is never, never an age or a skill level when we cannot change the trajectory of our health with mobility.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I don't study pro athletes. I study everyday people like you and me, educators, executives, teachers, people who just invest in their mobility.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Muscle is a key player in metabolism and overall health, number one. Number two, if we lose our muscle strength, we are more likely to fall down and break a bone.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Fat, adipose tissue, which is so cute on babies in adults, is a noxious metabolic organ that secretes something called adipokines. That poisons you. It prevents you from building lean muscle mass.
Dr. Vonda Wright: In 25 years of taking care of people, there are very few excuses that I have not heard. And I've got an answer for each one of them. But it comes down to what do you want.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Remember, I'm a whole person doctor that when they start paying attention to not only what's going in by reading labels, when they start eating appropriate sized portions, even without giving up a lot of stuff they love, they're losing weight. They feel amazing.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Willpower will not get you there. Discipline. I am worth the daily investment. I do not want to feel in pain.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I'm teaching all the time whether people want me to or not. So writing books for the public does that. So I wrote the first book, I think it was 2006 or something called Fitness after 40. And it and it was written based on the research of all the National Senior Games people I had studied.
Dr. Vonda Wright: The life expectancy in this country is 79 years old for men and about 81 for women. And listen, Japan, it's almost 85. So they're doing something right. But the devastating data that I keep reading, I keep reading is that our life expectancy is declining in this country.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I want to die like Queen Elizabeth. Oh, Queen Elizabeth was 97 years old. And on Tuesday, she put on her outfit with her little purse on her arm and met the prime minister, as she had always done. And on Thursday, she just laid down and didn't get up.
Dr. Vonda Wright: You must start estrogen within ten years of your day of menopause.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Frankly, many women are under calorie. They think we can only eat a thousand calories a day, which is going to make you low energy.
Dr. Vonda Wright: Estrogen replacement can stimulate the production and maintenance of your muscle derived stem cells, your satellite cells, which are therefore critical for metabolism and long life.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I'm a clinical scientist, I study people doing things. I found that the levels of klotho circulating in my masters athletes was higher than sedentary young people. So I have these 75 year olds whose blood is just teeming with klotho, the longevity protein much higher than 30 old sedentary people. Isn't that amazing?
Dr. Vonda Wright: What I advise my patients to do now, especially women, is to lift heavy and really stimulate muscle growth and stem cell growth.
Dr. Vonda Wright: I contend to you, number one, that the price of experience experiencing the richness of life, having a lot of wonderful things go on, having worked hard enough to be proud of yourself, the price of experience is aging, and I wouldn't want it every other any other way
Dr. Vonda Wright: Knee and hip replacements are arguably the most successful orthopedic procedures ever conceived. And they've been done for about 50 years now and truly can give people their lives back.