Hot 'n' Healthy: Ripped at 68, weightlifter pushes all ages to hit the gym

By Chris Thompson 

Ripped at 68

At age 68, Tony O’Connor is as sharp mentally as he is physically. A retired engineer, he has been a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer for 47 years. He is quick to tell you he is still learning and goes online every day to do research to better serve his clients.

His clients range in age from 10 to 85. O’Connor likes to say, “It is never too soon or never too late.”

With a diverse client base, O’Connor adheres to doctors’ instructions and adapts his training sessions to accommodate clients with shoulder or back injuries, scoliosis, diabetes, pregnancy, etc.

Cheri Acreed, 62, was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica, which causes musculoskeletal pain. She has taken several serious falls and attributes no broken bones to the flexibility and lean muscle mass she has developed while training with O’Connor.

“Since being diagnosed two years ago, Tony is the best thing that has happened to me physically and mentally,” Acreed says.

Study: Anatomic Patterns Could Influence Appropriate Scoliosis Treatments

Written by  Kathleen Roney | February 06, 2012

According to a study published in Spine, different anatomic patterns of proximal thoracic curves could cause different altered positions of the esophagus relative to the spine and result in different potential risks of esophageal injuries during thoracic pedicle screw insertion.

Researchers took axial CT images from 20 patients with complete proximal thoracic curve, 22 patients with fractional proximal thoracic curve and 14 normal patients to evaluate the changed relative positions of esophagus in proximal thoracic curves of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.

Key findings include:

•    Esophagus-vertebral angle was significantly smaller than that in the  normal group
•    EVA in the complete proximal thoracic group was significantly greater than in the normal group at each level.
•    The esophagus was at a high risk of injury with right anterior penetrated TPS in the CPT group.
•    Spine surgeons should choose appropriate pedicle screw length to avoid anterior cortical perforation in the PT region of AIS patients. 

Pain patients rebuild lives wrecked by addiction

They say they were overprescribed at Payette Clinic before drug agents raided it

Some of the faces and stories of the Payette Clinic are familiar.

There’s Harold Andres, the Vancouver Payette patient who robbed three pharmacies to get his oxycodone fix. His addiction landed him in prison for more than four years.

There’s Larae Corzine, who spent more than a year in prison for robbing pharmacies. The Vancouver woman became addicted to Oxycontin while a patient at the Payette Clinic.

And then there’s Rachel Daggett, the 18-year-old Oregon girl who died after smoking an oxycodone pill. The high school senior bought the pill from a Payette patient.

In March 2009, among allegations of overprescribing narcotic medications and prescription drug diversion, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided the Payette Clinic and, ultimately, ended its narcotic drug-prescribing operation.

The closure sent ripples through the community as hundreds of patients were left with nothing more than their addiction.

For every familiar story, hundreds of unknown stories exist.

Stories of the ashamed and embarrassed who will forever be labeled “addict” in the eyes of their family and friends.

Christina Scoliosis Treatment Insight