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Look, Feel, & Stay Young Forever: #1 Orthopedic Surgeon’s Proven Protocol | The Mel Robbins Podcast

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — Today, you will learn why everything you thought about aging is wrong—and how to stay strong, energized, and mobile at any age. Dr. Vonda Wright, MD, joins Mel today to give you the wakeup call of a lifetime – one that will teach you how to look, feel, and stay young forever. Dr. Wright is a double board-certified orthopedic surgeon and one of the world’s leading experts on mobility, musculoskeletal aging, and longevity. Her pioneering research proves that aging doesn’t mean getting weaker—it means getting smarter about how you move. You’ll learn: Why everything you’ve been told about aging is a lie, and how you can be stronger, healthier, and more energized at any age. How to slow aging (and even reverse it) with mobility, muscle-building, and simple daily habits. The best exercises for overall health & longevity—and why Dr. Wright says most people focus on the wrong things. Why women are often misled about aging—and how to take control of your health before it’s too late. What doctors don’t tell you about joint pain, arthritis, and how to fix it. Dr. Wright will break down the exercise routine scientifically proven to change the way your body looks and feels, plus a powerful mindset shift that will completely change how you view aging. Whether you’re 25 or 65, this episode will give you a science-backed roadmap to staying strong, mobile, and independent for life. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: https://www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-269 Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 00:00 Welcome 5:21 Changing the Conversation About Aging 13:34 Dr. Vonda’s Journey From Cancer Nurse to Orthopedic Surgeon 24:05 The Incredible Power of Mobility on Your Health 34:41 How You Age Is In Your Control 39:54 Investing in Your Future Mobility 48:35 How to Start Your Fitness Journey: The FACE Acronym for Midlife Exercise 1:03:59 Debunking Myths About Joint Health 1:08:00 Addressing Arthritis Holistically — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostDr. Vonda Wrightguest
Mar 6, 20251h 22mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 5:21

    Welcome

    1. MR

      Today's episode is a profound wake-up call. The expert you're about to meet is gonna teach you things about your body that you have never heard before. Did you know that you don't have to get weaker as you get older? You don't have to slow down? Whether you're 20, 50, or even 80 years old, you are designed to be strong. What you're gonna learn today will surprise you. It may shock you, and it will certainly open your eyes to a completely different possibility for how you experience your life and your future. If you're not aware of the actual functional design of your body, and you're not doing some simple things that our expert is gonna talk about today, you will not live a strong, long, and healthy life. So get ready to have a whole new way to look at the intelligent, miraculous design of your body and leverage it for the rest of your life. (clock ticking) This seriously blows my mind. 56% of you who listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast all the time haven't hit that subscribe button yet. No judgment, but if you're enjoying the show and you wanna keep getting the good stuff, do me a quick favor, tap the subscribe button. It's free. I promise to keep making this show better for you every single week. I'm listening to your feedback, bringing on guests you actually want to hear from, and making sure we're showing up for you. I love being together with you here on YouTube. Now let's get back to The Mel Robbins Podcast. Hey, it's your friend, Mel Robbins. Welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast. I am so thrilled that you're here. You know, it's always an honor to spend time with you and to be together, and if you're a new listener, I just want to take a moment and personally welcome you to The Mel Robbins Podcast family. And because you made the time to hit play and listen to this particular episode, I know that you're the kind of person who not only values your time, you value your health and the quality of your life. And you're going to love today's conversation with the extraordinary Dr. Vonda Wright. And I also wanna say this, if you chose to listen to this right now because someone in your life shared this with you, I just think that's really cool that somebody sent this to you because it means that you have someone in your life that cares about you, and they want you to learn how to leverage the intelligent, miraculous design of your body and how to feel stronger and more energized in your life, and that's exactly what you're gonna learn to do today as you and I spend time together with Dr. Vonda Wright. Now, Dr. Wright is a renowned, double board-certified orthopedic surgeon. She specializes in hip preservation, musculoskeletal aging, and sports medicine, and she has treated over 100,000 patients in her career. At the University of Pittsburgh, she was the medical director of the UPMC Sports Complex and the director of many of their biggest research groups, including the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes. She's also an internationally recognized researcher, and you're gonna hear about some of her fascinating studies today. You're also gonna learn about her pioneering work in mobility, musculoskeletal aging, and how it's changing the way we view and treat longevity, mobility, and the aging process. She's also written five best-selling books, including Fitness After 40, Younger In 8 Weeks, Guide To Thrive, and the upcoming book Unbreakable. Aren't you so excited to learn how to unlock all of the natural strength and natural design of your body to make your life better? I know I sure am. So please help me welcome Dr. Vonda Wright to The Mel Robbins Podcast. Dr. Vonda Wright, thank you, thank you, thank you for hopping on a plane and coming all the way to our Boston studios.

    2. VW

      (laughs)

    3. MR

      I am so thrilled that you're here.

    4. VW

      It's my pleasure.

    5. MR

      So I wanted to start by having you speak directly-

    6. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    7. MR

      ... to the person who is listening and explain what they might experience that's gonna be different about their life or a person that they love, who they share this with-

    8. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    9. MR

      ... if they take to heart everything that you're about to explain to us today.

    10. VW

      By the end of the day, I hope that I have changed your whole perspective on aging to realize that you do not have to be the victim of the passage of time and become frail. By the simple tools we're talking about today, with mobility and all the other things, that there is no age, no matter where you find yourself today, there is no age and skill level where it is too late, that your body will always respond to the positive stress you place on it.

    11. MR

      I love that.

    12. VW

      Mm.

    13. MR

      I can feel the fire.

    14. VW

      It's a very hopeful message.

    15. MR

      Well, I think it's a very important one-

    16. VW

      Yeah.

    17. MR

      ... because you're gonna talk to us today about your experience as an orthopedic surgeon and how movement actually is medicine.

    18. VW

      Yes.

    19. MR

      And you are changing the conversation about aging-

    20. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    21. MR

      ... in the world. You are getting women to think, in particular, very differently-

    22. VW

      Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

    23. MR

      ... about their health-

    24. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    25. MR

      ... and the unbelievable design of the human body-

    26. VW

      Yeah.

    27. MR

      ... and how you can leverage that in simple ways, and so I am so excited to unpack all of this with you. And I think maybe where we

  2. 5:21 – 13:34

    Changing the Conversation About Aging

    1. MR

      should start is, what do people get wrong about aging?

    2. VW

      There is a pervasive myth in this country that aging is an inevitable decline from the vitality of youth, down some slippery slope to frailty, where we spend the last 20 years of our lives dying. But the fact of the matter is, we actually can be healthy, vital, active, joyful, but people think that they have to go down this slippery slope and that- that there's nothing they can do about it. But the fact of the matter is, there's so much we can do to pre-plan our future.

    3. MR

      I am so excited for this conversation because already what you just said...... makes me think about getting older differently-

    4. VW

      Yeah.

    5. MR

      ... and it makes me think about my aging parents-

    6. VW

      Yes.

    7. MR

      ... differently-

    8. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    9. MR

      ... because, you know, y- I think we've all had that experience, whether you see your grandparents-

    10. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    11. MR

      ... or you see your parents, and you have that feeling where you're like, "Oh my god."

    12. VW

      Yep.

    13. MR

      "They look so old all of a sudden."

    14. VW

      How did that happen?

    15. MR

      How did that... They seem so frail."

    16. VW

      Yeah. Mm-hmm.

    17. MR

      So, I love this quote of yours. "We don't get old because we age. We get old because we stop moving."

    18. VW

      Yeah.

    19. MR

      What does that mean?

    20. VW

      So, you know, if- if we step back and, and look at our bodies-

    21. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    22. VW

      ... I think nature is very conservative. If we were designed to sit still night and day, we would not be designed with our strongest muscles below our belly buttons. We would be sessile like a mushroom with this giant stalk and all the good stuff on top, right?

    23. MR

      Wait, what does sessile mean?

    24. VW

      So, you know, Jabba the Hutt had this... You remember from Star Wars-

    25. MR

      Of course.

    26. VW

      ... this guy in the bar?

    27. MR

      (imitates Wookiee) Yes.

    28. VW

      Had this giant blubberous appendage he kinda laid on.

    29. MR

      Yes.

    30. VW

      Mushrooms have this giant stalk which doesn't go anywhere, right? So, if we were meant to be immobile, we would've been designed like one of those two beings, but we were not. We were designed with the strongest muscles below our belly buttons. We have two legs. What is the first independent skill we ever learn? Walking. It is human nature to move. So, what is unnatural, Mel, is not continuing to move. What is unnatural is not moving.

  3. 13:34 – 24:05

    Dr. Vonda’s Journey From Cancer Nurse to Orthopedic Surgeon

    1. MR

      I think, you know, one, one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you is because you're an orthopedic surgeon.

    2. VW

      Yes.

    3. MR

      And in 2022, only 7.4% of orthopedic surgeons were women.

    4. VW

      Oh, that's so high. When I trained, it was only three. Can you imagine?

    5. MR

      Why is that the case? I realize that there are-

    6. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    7. MR

      ... bigger issues around sexism, but why is it that there are so few women that are practicing as-

    8. VW

      Yeah.

    9. MR

      ... orthopedic surgeons?

    10. VW

      There became this culture that you had to be strong as an ox and twice as smart, which is a joke to say that surgeons, orthopedic surgeons are just big, burly, athletic men. The fact of the matter is orthopedic surgeons is one of the most competitive disciplines to get into, so it stands to reason that women would want to get into it.

    11. MR

      Yes.

    12. VW

      So, it has taken a long time for the culture to start accepting women into orthopedic surgery, although we're doing a better job now, obviously, than we ever have, but it's gonna take us another 50 years to catch up.

    13. MR

      What made you want to become an orthopedic surgeon?

    14. VW

      I decided to go into orthopedic surgery because we get to take care of people from the moment of their births to the moment of their deaths, and it's aspirational because if I harness the power of mobility, I can save you from the ravages of chronic disease. So for me, I mean, I love the technical side of putting metal in bones, and I use metal. I use needles now to do arthroscopy. I don't even have to make incisions. The technology is amazing. But that would never be enough for me because of just who I am and the, my mindset around taking care of the whole person. So the fact that I can help people aspire to healthy, vital, active, joyful, that is, uh, good work.

    15. MR

      Well, what I find interesting is that you're gonna teach us about aging-

    16. VW

      Yeah.

    17. MR

      ... through the lens of being an orthopedic surgeon.

    18. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    19. MR

      But I'm also curious because I know that prior to becoming an orthopedic surgeon, your first career was as a cancer nurse.

    20. VW

      Yeah.

    21. MR

      So what was it about being a nurse treating and caring for cancer patients-

    22. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    23. MR

      ... that led you to want to go into orthopedics, and how does all of that inform-

    24. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    25. MR

      ... the way that you think about aging?

    26. VW

      I'm a much better doctor, and I have a deep empathy and perspective on taking the whole p- care of the whole person and not just treating you like an ACL, or treating... And I'll give you examples of these. Because I was a cancer nurse, so in the, in the late '80s, early '90s when I was doing this, uh, there was a tremendous shortage of nurses, and so you get out of college. They say, "Come train as a nurse," and in three years, youthful vigor, in three years I got another bachelor's degree and a master's degree and started working on 11 Kellogg, which is a cancer floor at Rush University in Chicago. You cannot be 23 years old pushing chemo in the middle of the night to women mostly in the struggle of their lives and not come out a changed person. Uh, at the time, most cancer care was done in the hospital. Now it's mostly outpatient, and at that time, nursing was primary nursing, meaning, Mel, if you're in the hospital every month for six months, I would have been your nurse.

    27. MR

      Mm.

    28. VW

      Just me and you. And so in the middle of the night, chemo is given at night. When I am there with you, and you can ima- you've seen hospitals. It's dark.

    29. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    30. VW

      There's a light behind the bed.

  4. 24:05 – 34:41

    The Incredible Power of Mobility on Your Health

    1. MR

      that there is this, what you call the medicine of mobility-

    2. VW

      Yeah.

    3. MR

      ... that you're gonna talk about today, that is important for all of us to understand and embrace. I don't care how old or young you are-

    4. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    5. MR

      ... and that there is a different way to age that creates a completely different life, and that you do have control here.

    6. VW

      Well, when I say things like movement is... mobility is medicine, movement is medicine, it's because there is this phenomenon, and I wish I had made this up, called sedentary death syndrome. It is the 33 chronic diseases that kill us in this country. It's everything you've thought of. Heart disease, brain disease, stroke. It is, um, diabetes. All of those 33 chronic diseases that people die of are directly treated by moving. Because if you have high blood pressure, you'll take a pill for that. If you have cardiac disease, you'll take a pill for that. If you have dementia, you could take a pill for that. One pill, moving your body is the medicine that positively affects them all. So if we want to cure sedentary death syndrome, it involves the medicine of mobility. Now, let's just take two steps back so that, so that we acknowledge that we don't control everything in the future. There are legitimately these time bombs of aging, uh, that just happen at a cellular level. But the thing is, our lifestyle can control our mitochondria, the energy of our cells. They can control how many bad cells circulate around. They're called senescent cells or zombie cells. We can control that by the, the lifestyle we live. We can control inflammation in our body to a certain extent with the lifestyle we live. And so all these time bombs that age us faster, we are not the victims of the passage of time. If you want to feel better now, then that is an action step. It is not reading more about what could happen to you and putting the book back on the shelf. It is learning how to take action to change the trajectory of the future, or else you are a victim of the passage of time.

    7. MR

      Well, one thing that I will say is that if you are somebody that listens to this podcast and you normally listen to it while you're sitting at work-

    8. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    9. MR

      ... or you're sitting in your car-

    10. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    11. MR

      ... like one change you could make is listen to this while you're walking.

    12. VW

      Absolutely.

    13. MR

      And that way you're combining the advice-

    14. VW

      Yeah.

    15. MR

      ... with your interest in listening to something-

    16. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    17. MR

      ... that's helping you improve your life. You've said that our understanding of aging is completely skewed-

    18. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    19. MR

      ... because all of the studies that have been done-

    20. VW

      Yes.

    21. MR

      ... on folks that are older-

    22. VW

      Yes. Mm-hmm.

    23. MR

      ... are studies done on people who don't move much. Can you unpack this for us?

    24. VW

      Absolutely. So when we look at aging studies, you will often find things like, oh, we slow down when we age, we lose our muscle. And, and, and some of that is true, right? It is true. I'll concede that. But in big population studies, like there's a study that was going on when I was at the University of Pittsburgh called the Health ABC. They took a cohort, a group of 70-year-olds and just followed them and to see what happens. They all slowed down. They developed a lot of body fat. They... All the things you think about of an aging. Well, when you look at the US population, and it's not that different around the world, 70% of us don't do any form of mobility or exercise a day. It's like this thing I described to you, 20 hours sitting down, right? So what do we know from those population studies? We know how we age if we don't move. So my group and I ca- uh, I formed this group early in my career called PRIMA, the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes. Masters just means people over 35 or 40. It's like, it's like-

    25. MR

      Gotcha. That doesn't sound that old, but so they're called a master.

    26. VW

      It's a category, right?

    27. MR

      Okay.

    28. VW

      Yeah, it's a category. So all of my academic research has been investigating what happens if we take sedentary living out of the equation in terms of our aging. And so I was the principal investigator on a number of studies that looked at bone health, muscle health, brain health, our stem cells with aging, all looking at when do we slow down if we continue to be active our entire lives. And we started studying people, active people, they were not professional athletes, asking the question, "What are we capable of if we take the variable of sedentary living out of the equation? Can we maintain our muscle mass? Can we maintain our bone density? Can we maintain our brain function? When do we really slow down?" And we found that in our active people, 35, 40 and up all the way, I think my oldest in these studies were 103, that yes indeed, you can maintain your bone density. Yes indeed, you can maintain your muscle mass. Yes indeed, you can retain the cognitive function in the front of your brain. Yes indeed, we can stimulate the production of longevity proteins all with something as simple as moving our legs, walking around, competing in a little sports because remember, we are designed to move.

    29. MR

      You have with you these, uh, MRI results.

    30. VW

      Yeah.

  5. 34:41 – 39:54

    How You Age Is In Your Control

    1. VW

      a shock as those people who come to my office at 65 and say, "Oh my God, what do I do now?"

    2. MR

      Well, let's start there 'cause I wanna hear you explain what are the critical habits-

    3. VW

      Yeah.

    4. MR

      ... for that decade of 35 to 45, but I wanna just tell-

    5. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    6. MR

      ... the person that's with us right now-

    7. VW

      Yeah.

    8. MR

      ... who's either taking us on a walk or-

    9. VW

      Yeah.

    10. MR

      ... you're listening at home, or we're in the car with you 'cause you're probably thinking, "Oh my God, I blew that decade. Now I'm screwed."

    11. VW

      No. (laughs)

    12. MR

      And so we're gonna get to you.

    13. VW

      Yeah. (laughs)

    14. MR

      And, and, and Dr. Wright has very good news-

    15. VW

      Yeah.

    16. MR

      ... because, well, I'm just gonna ask that right now. What if you're over 45 like me-

    17. VW

      Yeah.

    18. MR

      ... or your parents are over 45-

    19. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    20. MR

      ... and you're listening right now, and you feel like, "Is it too late"-

    21. VW

      Yeah.

    22. MR

      ... "for me to course correct?"

    23. VW

      Yeah.

    24. MR

      "Is it too late for me to build strong muscle? Why the hell do I need strong muscle in order to have a better health span?" Like, what about the person who's listening or who got this forwarded to them-

    25. VW

      Who's over 45.

    26. MR

      Yeah.

    27. VW

      Yeah. Aren't we all over f- All the cool kids are. Listen, the short answer is no. There is never an age or skill level when the strategic stress you put on your body in the form of all the thing, mobility, the strength training, the smart nutrition, will not dramatically change the trajectory of your health. There is not an age.

    28. MR

      I just wanna make sure the person hears this.

    29. VW

      Yeah.

    30. MR

      So Dr. Wright, you're sitting here-

  6. 39:54 – 48:35

    Investing in Your Future Mobility

    1. MR

      you to really embrace what Dr. Wright is saying. Imagine a world where-

    2. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    3. MR

      ... the 80 or 90-year-old who has muscles-

    4. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    5. MR

      ... and is going to the gym-

    6. VW

      Yeah.

    7. MR

      ... is not defying the odds.

    8. VW

      It's normal.

    9. MR

      They're actually the norm.

    10. VW

      Yeah.

    11. MR

      Be- and that's what you're saying, that you're... Like, I want you to embrace the idea that we've all bought into this lie-

    12. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    13. MR

      ... that getting old means you have to be frail, and what you're here to say is, "No, actually the research is very clear on this. Your body is designed to build muscle, to grow and to move," and if that's what you do, whether you're starting for the first time at the age of 70-

    14. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    15. MR

      ... or you're listening right now, and you're 25, and you're like, "Oh, this makes a lot of sense. I need to do this so that I can live a vibrant life, like this is just a part of what I need to be doing."

    16. VW

      It's wha- it's what I am. It's my lifestyle. It's not a diet. It is not a six-week exercise program. It is my lifestyle. Because I think people can get overwhelmed with all the information that's out there. What frequency do I have to get on the vibrating plate? How many pounds (laughs) in my weighted vest? I mean, can I jump? Can I jump on a trampoline? Listen, people. We get so caught up in the 99% of minutiae when we are not even taking the first step. If we focused on the 1% that we know is true, these things that I keep saying and will detail for you, if we focus on that, when that is your lifestyle, then you can layer on the complicated stuff. But I really feel, Mel, that we get so caught up in the data overload, that we get so paralyzed-

    17. MR

      Yes.

    18. VW

      ... we do nothing.

    19. MR

      Yes. And you're basically saying if you literally just get up out of the chair and you move the legs that you have or you wheel yourself in your wheelchair-

    20. VW

      Yes.

    21. MR

      ... you are doing what your body is designed to do, and your body will thank you by building muscle?

    22. VW

      Even if you're in pain. Listen. I'll-

    23. MR

      Okay, talk to me about that.

    24. VW

      Let's talk about some pain 'cause I am an orthopedic surgeon, and people come to me in pain. I get it. You don't wanna get hurt by trying something new. I get that a lot. Oh, but-

    25. MR

      But walking is not something new.

    26. VW

      That's true. Let's be honest. Or, "It hurts when I walk," or, "I don't have the time," or... Listen, I've been doing this so long, I often say to people, "You cannot out-excuse me. I have heard it all." If your knees hurt when you walk on dry land, well then, let's go to the local Y which has a hot pool and a budget program, and let's get in that water and walk, right? Even if we have to walk around our kitchen table until we can walk outside, or we have to get up and down from a chair until we can go to a gym, you just have to make the effort because what happens if we don't?

    27. MR

      You will end up frail and old. You will be the statistic of somebody who breaks their bone-

    28. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    29. MR

      ... and who dies an early death.

    30. VW

      Mm-hmm.

  7. 48:35 – 1:03:59

    How to Start Your Fitness Journey: The FACE Acronym for Midlife Exercise

    1. VW

    2. MR

      So where do you start? So like, you just mentioned deadlifting-

    3. VW

      Yeah.

    4. MR

      ... you mentioned running on a treadmill, neither are things that I do. So does, does Pilates or yoga count? Does a HIT class count? Like I, if you're somebody like me where I work out at home-

    5. VW

      Yes.

    6. MR

      ... if I walk into the hotel gym-

    7. VW

      Yeah.

    8. MR

      ... I don't know what to do.

    9. VW

      Yeah.

    10. MR

      Like, I'll start that little circuit of machines-

    11. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    12. MR

      ... I'm not quite sure how to position the machine.

    13. VW

      Yeah.

    14. MR

      Like, where do you recommend-

    15. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    16. MR

      ... you start? If, if you're thinking, "You know, she's right, I do need to move more. Walking-"

    17. VW

      Yeah.

    18. MR

      "... I got it, but I keep hearing about strength training and the importance of muscle mass."

    19. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    20. MR

      How do you make this simple in a world where it's easy to get overwhelmed?

    21. VW

      So, uh, I have an acronym that I use to help...... form the ideas of exercise for midlife people. It works for everybody, critical decade. But I call it facing your future. Here are the four components we need to work into our life, F-

    22. MR

      Facing your future.

    23. VW

      F-A-C-E, face your future.

    24. MR

      Okay.

    25. VW

      Number one, flexibility and, uh, mobility, meaning if we do not move our joints through their full range of motion, like an old car sitting in a junkyard, we will become stiff. Because the natural history, meaning what happens in time, with our tendons and ligaments is they become tighter and tighter and tighter. That is a natural... That is the way nature happens if we don't invest in making it not so. Pilates and yoga are amazing for maintaining flexibility, mobility of the joints. It's also great for core, a solid core. So that's number one. Number two, aerobic. We must invest in a healthy cardiovascular engine. So how do we do that? Well, we grew up in a time where we were high intensity all the time.

    26. MR

      Yes.

    27. VW

      We know now, and you know, my philosophy on this has changed over the years 'cause I'm a curious, evolving person, that I want to work at the two extremes. Meaning most high intensity interval training, and I can name several brands, uh, of gyms that do this, work you out in a mid-range where it's not light enough that you're not gonna get hurt and it's not intense enough that it's gonna stimulate real change in your body. So these HIT classes where you're working in the middle zones of your heart range are a good way to get injured and see me in my office on Mondays. So when I prescribe aerobic exercise to people, I say walk or slow biking or low heart rate. Any apparatus works. I, I say walk, but hear me. Any apparatus works. Or the ground. Do that and then we're gonna sprint our guts out a couple times a week. Sprinting does not mean you're Usain Bolt on a track. Sprinting is a heart rate phenomenon. So we're gonna work as hard as we can go so that we're almost so working hard we're gonna throw up a couple times a week.

    28. MR

      That sounds horrible.

    29. VW

      But know-

    30. MR

      Like literally that sounds absolutely horrible.

  8. 1:03:59 – 1:08:00

    Debunking Myths About Joint Health

    1. MR

      heard a lot of people say that running's bad for your joints-

    2. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    3. MR

      ... that weightlifting's bad for your joint-

    4. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    5. MR

      What, what... As a orthopedic surgeon, what's your opinion about this? Like, it's bad for your joints. What does that mean?

    6. VW

      Well, that comes from the knowledge that, on the end of every bone, like for instance, I don't know if we can see this on the end of this bone.

    7. MR

      Yeah, you're hold- Why do you-

    8. VW

      This is a-

    9. MR

      Explain what the hell you're holding.

    10. VW

      I brought, I brought you my-

    11. MR

      It's like a dinosaur bone.

    12. VW

      I brought- It kind of is, except it's a h- it's a femur. It's the longest bone in your body. It goes from your hip to your knee.

    13. MR

      Okay.

    14. VW

      Right? And so when people break their hip, this is what we're breaking.

    15. MR

      Oh.

    16. VW

      So if your Aunt Mary fell down-

    17. MR

      Yeah.

    18. VW

      ... and broke her hip, this is the bone that she's breaking.

    19. MR

      Okay.

    20. VW

      But if we're talking about this question you ask about why people think that running and exercising and lifting is bad for your joints, it's c- it comes from the knowledge that, you know, when I had a stem cell lab and we wanted to damage cartilage, which is the smoother-than-ice, glistening end of a bone, all we really had to do was drop a marble on it, as it's very pressure-sensitive. That being said, our joints themselves require mobility to be healthy, because the way we feed our joints is through the pressure of, of the fluid in the joints. It's like-

    21. MR

      So it's almost like a rubber... If you've ever seen an old rubber band that gets brittle.

    22. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    23. MR

      What-

    24. VW

      That's like a tendon that gets brittle, right?

    25. MR

      So, like, stretching the rubber band actually keeps it healthy?

    26. VW

      It does. Moving muscle, moving joints, uh, lubricating cartilage with mobility keeps everything healthy.

    27. MR

      One thing that I wanna, um, just reflect on-

    28. VW

      Yeah.

    29. MR

      ... because I think it's a very empowering thing to consider-

    30. VW

      Mm-hmm.

  9. 1:08:00 – 1:22:42

    Addressing Arthritis Holistically

    1. MR

      this is something you can overcome. So if the person listening is thinking, "Okay, I- I get this," like-

    2. VW

      Yeah.

    3. MR

      ... "This is exciting, and I do have a lot of joint pain."

    4. VW

      Yeah.

    5. MR

      "I do have arthritis."

    6. VW

      Yes.

    7. MR

      "What do I do?"

    8. VW

      (inhales deeply)

    9. MR

      "Where do I start?"

    10. VW

      Let's talk about arthritis. And I'm gonna give you-

    11. MR

      Okay.

    12. VW

      ... an example from yesterday of a- of a girlfriend of mine in Lake Nona who was a professional tennis player, but it could be anybody. It doesn't have to be a professional. But through the pounding that she did over her life, she- she did wear out her cartilage. And so I see this vibrant woman at the peak of her career in what, exactly what you're saying. She has knee pain and arthritis, and she's not even at os- as old as us. So I could have taken a purely medical route with her. (smacks lips) I could have said, "Okay, I'm gonna shoot you up with steroids every few weeks," which I don't do, but, I mean, just- Mm-hmm.

    13. MR

      ... I choose not to treat my patients with that remedy only. I could have said, "Okay, when you're ready for a total joint, let me know." But knowing that the body will respond with strength to the positive stimuli, we cut out all the inflammatory foods in her life, because pain is an inflammatory process. And if we wanna be in less pain, then we have to quit junkifying our diet, primary of which is the added sugar that the American food system has to the tune of 16 pounds, if I remember correctly, of added sugar a month that we don't even know. Does that mean you don't put sugar in your coffee?

    14. VW

      I don't, but-

    15. MR

      No, no, no, but what does it mean when you say, "I cut out sugar"? 'Cause I'm like, "What the hell-

    16. VW

      Yeah.

    17. MR

      ... does that even mean?" Does it mean-

    18. VW

      So I'm not anti-carb. I'm not saying everybody only has to eat protein. I'm saying i- when you eat carbs, your body responds in a least inflammatory way by eating fiber, uh, and complex carbs. So this morning, here in this studio, I had eggs, which is protein, and some of the most gorgeous complex carb multi-grain sprouted this and that bread that just came from your local place, which is so much slower digesting, full of fiber, than a piece of white bread or an English muffin that's gonna spike my sugar and it's gonna make me inflamed all day long.

    19. MR

      Got it. So as a doctor-

    20. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    21. MR

      ... when you hear somebody talking about joint pain, arthritis, chronic pain, you go inflammation.

    22. VW

      Mm-hmm.

    23. MR

      Obviously, there are those conditions that are bone-related from pounding the bones over years-

    24. VW

      Yeah, you can get-

    25. MR

      ... and that kind of stuff.

    26. VW

      ... arthritis at any age. Mm-hmm.

    27. MR

      But simply changing the way that you eat-

    28. VW

      Can go b- a big change. So... And when I say, just to clarify that question, added sugar, turn over any label on a packaged food, it's gonna say, "Six grams of added sugar," "Ten, fifteen gram..." What? Why? So anyway, so number one, let's anti-inflame our bo- diet, and that's what I told her to do. We really focused on feeding the muscle I was gonna ask her to build with protein and fiber, right? So that was number one. Number two, people are always interested when they come in to me with arthritis. Sometimes we are in pain in our joints because our joints are pounding together, because we don't have enough muscle surrounding our joints to act as shock absorbers.

    29. MR

      Oh.

    30. VW

      So every step is a pounding loud motion instead of engaging our butt, core, and hips, our qu- our muscles on the front and back of our legs to shock absorb every step. So the second-

Episode duration: 1:22:42

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