Dr. David Carfagno started his approach to the seasoned athlete, termed a masters athlete, while doing his residency and fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation back in the 1990’s. Since he had a background in exercise physiology and he was personal training all ages and abilities, he had a special interest in the older athlete, especially since he took the internal medicine route, more specifically, sports medicine focused.
Dr. Carfagno’s practice has evolved to the point where his emphasis is really surrounded around the masters athlete and the physiology of the human body as it ages. There are several different bio markers and biometrics in the body he evaluates through lab work, wearable monitoring and other physiological data.
SSMI’s Masters Athlete Program is really centered around both of those venues’, lab work as well as the biometric data that through time declines with aging whether they’re hormonal indicators, aerobic capacity, or lean body mass.
The evaluation of the masters athlete includes taking a comprehensive history of activity status, history of sports and fitness routines and sports nutrition for that athlete.
Comprehensive lab work is ordered from routine bloodwork, metabolic endocrine along with mitochondrial and physiological testing such as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), VO2 Max Testing to test for aerobic capacity and body composition through the gold standard DEXA scan to evaluate body fat composition, lean mass as well as the micronutrient testing. This is a blood test that can determine where the masters athlete may be deficient when it comes to vitamins and minerals and will aid in what to eat and supplement.
Once Dr. Carfagno analyzes all of this data, he can set a game plan in motion that entails addressing some of the aging process at the numerical level as well as creating an exercise and nutritional program for the masters athlete to follow.
The doctor is honored to always talk about this program at his Cleveland Clinic fellowship research meetings which are attended by alumni of the Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Fellowship Program.
If you are interested learning more about his program, call the office at 480-664-4615.