Fitness conscious doctors are the best

You probably have a family doctor and you go to see him whenever you have some kind of ailment that needs a higher level of attention than going to your medicine cabinet.

My annual checkup with my primary care physician, Dr. Andre Leonard, is something I look forward to every year.

I have a primary care doctor too and I look forward to seeing him every year for an annual checkup -- for me, an important event. In between annual visits I don’t hesitate to go and see him if something doesn’t feel right.

I think that doing this has averted at least a couple of what could have become major health issues. One of those was when my PSA rose a bit above the safe range and didn’t go back down for a while. I had a biopsy done and the end result was a prostate cancer procedure. That was in 1998, 26 years ago, and I’ve been well since.

There have been other issues. One was a problem about 24 years ago with two toes on my right foot. A podiatrist showed me how to put a small roll under the toes and that solved the problem. It’s a minor issue that comes and goes.

In 2009 I had a small meniscus tear in my left knee. I had an outpatient surgical procedure done and in a few weeks I was back jogging. It was around that time that I began using the elliptical almost all the time. There have been several other minor ailments commonly associated with getting old but so far nothing that has interfered with my personal fitness program. I think I’ve been fortunate.

Growing up I had all the sicknesses a child back in the 1930s would normally get. That was before fluoride, penicillin, polio vaccine, and other modern medicines we now take for granted. I got through that period and so did my three siblings. Later I broke my lower fibula playing high school football. The only good thing about that was being helped off the field by the cheerleaders.

Over the years, I've concluded that the doctors that I think do the best job for me and that I like the best are doctors and medical practitioners that are fitness conscious themselves.

I have a unique perspective on medical help. As you can imagine, I have seen quite a few medical doctors over my many years. The ones that I think do the best job for me and that I like the best are doctors and medical practitioners that are fitness conscious themselves.

My primary care doctor is a marathon runner and has done several triathlons including an Iron Man. My chiropractor is an athletic team consultant, a top long distance bicycle racer, and works out regularly at a gym. Even my dentist that I see for annual and semi-annual checks is a skilled paddle board enthusiast. He takes himself and his dog out for long paddle board trips to a nearby island, the dog gets to run around the island, and the doctor gets a lot of exercise going and coming.

I feel comfortable when I am in the care of professionals like this because I know they understand what being fit is all about.