Dr. Howard Luks

Dr. Howard Luks Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist. Author: Longevity Simplified
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A Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in the treatment of the shoulder, knee, elbow, and ankle. I have a very "social" patient centric approach and believe that the more you understand about your issue, the better your decisions will be. Ultimately your treatments and my recommendations will be based on proper communications, proper understanding, and shared decision making princip

les --- all geared to improve your quality of life and get you or your loved one back on the field or back in the game.

In the pursuit of longevity, people often believe they need to become extreme. The hardest workouts, the strictest diets...
06/05/2026

In the pursuit of longevity, people often believe they need to become extreme. The hardest workouts, the strictest diets, the perfect routines. The truth is that your body does not ask for perfection.

Intensity burns bright and fast, but consistency stays beside you through the years, carrying you forward even on the days you feel weak, unmotivated, or human.

Longevity is built in ordinary days when nobody is watching. The days you push yourself to keep going even when you don’t feel like moving at all. The days your body aches, your spirit is tired, and life feels unbearably heavy, yet you still choose to show up for yourself in small ways.

If this post spoke to something deep inside you or if it made you think about your health, your future, or the kind of life you want to still be living years from now you can subscribe to my page.

I share evidence-based insights on longevity, healthspan, movement, aging, and the small daily habits that quietly shape the quality of our lives. Not fear-mongering. Not fake motivation.

The link is in the comments. I’d love to have you there.

We’ve been sold the idea that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number.It’s not.That number wasn’t born from science; it w...
06/05/2026

We’ve been sold the idea that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number.

It’s not.
That number wasn’t born from science; it was a marketing slogan used to sell pedometers in Japan in the 1960s. Yet for decades, people have felt like they were failing their health if they didn’t hit five figures every single day.

But what if the real goal was never perfection?

For a deeper, evidence-based breakdown of this, I shared more on my Facebook subscriber hub. The link in the comments if you’re interested.

I’ve seen it time and time again throughout my career: a new patient walks into my office with knee pain, shoulder pain,...
06/05/2026

I’ve seen it time and time again throughout my career: a new patient walks into my office with knee pain, shoulder pain, or an MRI showing a meniscus tear, rotator cuff tear, arthritis, or “degeneration.” The implication is often immediate but that something is damaged, worn out, and in need of fixing.

But pain is rarely that simple.
One of the hardest and most important lessons I’ve learned in 30 years as an orthopedic surgeon is that imaging does not reliably tell us what hurts. Structural changes on an MRI do not automatically mean there is tissue damage requiring surgery. In fact, many of the so-called “abnormalities” we see on scans are often age-appropriate findings, not a sentence about your future.

I’ve seen far too many people rush into surgery because of frightening words on an X-ray report. But imaging alone should never guide the entire decision-making process. I run with people who have “bone-on-bone” knee X-rays and remain active, strong, and functional. There is far more to the story than what appears on a scan.

That realization changed the way I think about osteoarthritis. In the summer of 2025, I published a book here on Substack about knee osteoarthritis (OA), built from decades of clinical experience and conversations with thousands of patients living with knee pain. This series challenges the outdated “wear and tear” narrative and the myth that arthritis means you need to stop moving and start resting.

Instead, it explores what the evidence actually shows: how metabolic health, strength training, movement, recovery, and lifestyle profoundly influence pain, function, and long-term outcomes. It walks readers through the treatment process step by step and helps them understand if and when surgery should truly be considered.

If you’ve been told you’re “bone on bone,” that your joints are “worn out,” or that you need to stop being active, this is where I would encourage you to start.

The link is here: https://howardluksmd.substack.com/p/knee-osteoarthritis-book?utm_source=publication-search

A pilot study published in PubMed followed women over the age of 75 living with chronic low back pain.After completing a...
06/03/2026

A pilot study published in PubMed followed women over the age of 75 living with chronic low back pain.

After completing a 12-week program focused on body awareness, stability, and progressive movement, participants showed meaningful improvements in strength, balance, flexibility, mobility, muscle mass, and pain levels. Even inflammation markers improved.

That matters..
Because it reminds us that the body is still capable of adapting even later in life, even after years of pain.
So many people believe aging means decline is unavoidable. But studies like this show that the right kind of movement can still restore function, improve confidence, and help people reconnect with their bodies again.

Most people think a warm-up is just about “getting loose.” But the real goal is to wake up your nervous system before as...
06/03/2026

Most people think a warm-up is just about “getting loose.” But the real goal is to wake up your nervous system before asking your body to perform.

You’ve felt this before: the first set feels awkward, unstable, or weak… then suddenly by the third set, everything feels smoother and more controlled.
That’s not because your muscles got stronger in five minutes. Your nervous system simply woke up.

A proper warm-up improves coordination, balance, timing, and how efficiently your body handles force and movement. It prepares your brain and body to work together before running, lifting, or cycling.

You’re not just warming up muscles.
You’re preparing your entire movement system.

This matters even more for endurance athletes. Before a run or ride, your muscles don’t instantly shift into efficient energy production. Mitochondria ramp up. Enzymes involved in fat oxidation and aerobic metabolism increase their activity. Blood flow redistributes. Oxygen delivery improves. Some proteins involved in energy transport and contraction are upregulated on demand. That process takes time. A warm-up primes that machinery so you don’t feel flat, heavy, or awkward in the first miles.

Skipping this step doesn’t just make things feel harder... it increases injury risk. Cold systems react slowly. Poor timing and delayed force absorption are how small stumbles turn into strains, tendon pain, or falls. Warming up is how you buy yourself margin.

That’s why these hopping drills matter. They prepare the systems that coordinate balance, coordination, and power. They prepare our connective tissues for impact… tendons enjoy the warm-up. These drills basically tell your brain, “We’re about to move...pay attention.” Whether you’re running, lifting, or cycling, the principle is the same: don’t go from zero to demand.

I do these in the same order that I present them. This only takes a few minutes. I usually walk for 5 minutes first, then do these hopping drills and take off on my run, a ride, or a tough day in the gym.

Read full article here:https://howardluksmd.substack.com/p/my-favorite-warmup-drills-why-they

I hear this every day in my office. “I just don’t have time to work out.”And honestly, I understand why people feel that...
06/03/2026

I hear this every day in my office. “I just don’t have time to work out.”

And honestly, I understand why people feel that way. Most of us were taught that being healthy means spending hours in the gym, sweating through intense workouts, and completely rearranging our lives around fitness.
But the research says something much more encouraging.
You do not need an hour a day to meaningfully improve your health.

Studies show that:
-Just 30–60 minutes of strength training per week can lower mortality risk.
-Even 15–30 minutes of vigorous activity per week including short bursts is linked to better heart health and lower risk of early death.
-Small things matter more than people realize climbing stairs, brisk walks, carrying groceries, intentional movement throughout the day.

That means even 10–20-minute sessions done consistently can improve strength, energy, health markers, and long-term function.

I share more evidence-based insights like this inside my subscriber page focused on practical health, aging, movement, strength, and longevity in ways that actually fit real life. If you want to learn how small changes can create meaningful long-term results, you’re always welcome to subscribe.

We don’t even notice it happening. At first, it’s small.You avoid the stairs because your knees feel unreliable.You stop...
06/01/2026

We don’t even notice it happening. At first, it’s small.

You avoid the stairs because your knees feel unreliable.
You stop sitting on the floor because getting back up feels harder than it used to.
You let someone else carry the groceries
You hesitate before long walks.
You tell yourself, “Maybe I’m just getting old.”

And little by little, without realizing it, your world becomes smaller.
Not because your body betrayed you
But because fear quietly took pieces of your life away.

The hardest part is that it feels reasonable.
It feels safe.
It feels mature to avoid the things that hurt, challenge, or scare us.
But the body listens to everything we stop doing.
When we stop bending down, the body learns stiffness.
When we stop walking far, the body learns limitation.
When we stop trusting ourselves to move, the body slowly stops trusting us back.
Muscles weaken.
Balance fades.
Confidence disappears long before strength does.

And one day, many people wake up believing aging stole their life from them… when in reality, fear slowly convinced them to surrender it.
But your body was never asking for perfection.
It was only asking to keep being used.

The human body is unbelievably adaptable. It still responds to movement, challenge, balance, load, and practice — even later in life. It still wants to learn. It still wants to recover. It still wants to stay alive in the fullest sense of the word.

That’s why I don’t believe most people are “too old.”

I think many people have simply spent too many years being afraid.
Afraid to fall.
Afraid to hurt.
Afraid to look foolish.
Afraid that their best years are already behind them.

But there is still life left in you.
There are still stairs to climb.
Floors to sit on.
Walks to take
Grandchildren to play with.
Places to go.
Moments to fully live.

And maybe the goal was never to become young again.
Maybe the goal is to stop abandoning yourself before life is actually over.

If this resonated with you, you’re always welcome to subscribe to my page.
I share evidence-based insights about aging, movement, strength, recovery, and learning how to keep living fully even as we grow older. The link is in the comments

Pain on the outside of the hip is one of the most common reasons people come to see me. Walkers get it. Runners get it. ...
06/01/2026

Pain on the outside of the hip is one of the most common reasons people come to see me. Walkers get it. Runners get it. People who have never set foot in a gym get it. It can sneak up gradually or arrive after what seems like a minor change in your routine.

Sleeping on that side becomes uncomfortable. Long walks feel different. Stairs suddenly hurt a lot and demand much more attention. Getting in and out of the car produces that sharp reminder that something is wrong. More advanced exercises when the pain starts to calm down and we want to build capacity.
These are also for those of you who want to AVOID developing lateral hip pain.

Read full article here:https://howardluksmd.substack.com/p/why-the-outside-of-your-hip-hurts?selection=5830bd8a-dd98-417e-a26d-ef22a0726143

Many people decide to “get healthy” by starting strength training and that’s a great decision. Lifting weights helps you...
06/01/2026

Many people decide to “get healthy” by starting strength training and that’s a great decision. Lifting weights helps you stay strong, protect your bones, and maintain independence as you age.

But here’s the part most people miss:
Your muscles aren’t the only thing that need training...your heart does too.
A healthy body is more than strength alone.

It’s endurance, circulation, recovery, mobility, and the ability to keep doing the things you love for years to come.

I talk more about this inside my subscriber page, where I share evidence-based insights on aging, movement, strength, and long-term health in a practical way.

If you’d like to learn more, you’re always welcome to subscribe. The link is in the comments

Sometimes the best form of exercise isn’t the hardest workout. Sometimes it’s laughing over a game of table tennis, focu...
05/29/2026

Sometimes the best form of exercise isn’t the hardest workout. Sometimes it’s laughing over a game of table tennis, focusing quietly during archery, dancing in the living room, or taking walks with people you enjoy being around.

Because when movement becomes enjoyable, it becomes something we return to. And consistency is what truly changes our health over time.

I want older adults to know that fitness does not have to mean suffering. It can still feel playful. Social. Meaningful. Alive. You are still allowed to discover new passions in your 60s or 70s. You are still allowed to move with joy, not just obligation.

Find movement you love.

Address

128 Ashford Avenue
Dobbs Ferry, NY
10522

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+19145591900

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