Living Now Welcomes A New Teacher: Health Columnist Dr. Rock Positano

Last week I played several rounds of phone tag with Dr. Rock Positano, whose warning about the dangers of summer's official footwear, the flip-flop, made headlines two weeks ago. "Flip-flops," the director of Non-Surgical Foot and Ankle Service at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery insists, "have single-handedly caused more problems with people's feet than any other shoe." Catching "Dr. Rock" in a free moment proved to be a challenge. On Monday after 5:00 he was still with patients, and the next day was the same thing. When I finally received an email from him, he said he had a window to talk between 10 pm and 1 am! I didn't take him up on it.

When I finally connected with Dr. Rock, he was profusely apologetic. "It's just been nuts around here," he explained. Nuts? For a foot doctor at a Manhattan hospital the last week of August? Isn't everybody in New York City away the last week in August? "No," he replied. "I've had three women come in with flip-flop injuries today alone. Guys are watching the U.S. Open, then pick up a racket, get hurt and here they are. It's great that everyone's out playing, but injuries are way up." Dr. Rock sounded more than ready to have everyone put their summer obsessions away until next year, and head back to work. In fact he sounded an awful lot like all those parents who've had their fill of summer, and are more than ready for their kids to go back to school.

So, today we'll kick off the 'Back To School' season with lots of tips for getting your children off to a happy, healthy, and productive start for the school year. We're delighted to have Dr. Rock Positano join us as a regular health and fitness contributor with his first column, "Backpacks Can Cause Back Woes for Kids."