The thousand-watt smile and booming voice of Clarence Clemons take center stage at the bustling physical therapy center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Despite the teeth-clenching pain of these post-surgical exercises to rehab his knees, Clarence is as gracious, humble and sweet as he is famous. “Thanks for coming,” he says to me and the camera crew who are tagging along for his PT session.
Although he’s held in the highest of heaven’s regard among his fans, the tenor saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band also is well grounded and takes life and his osteoarthritis in stride. With a sunny outlook and new hips and knees, at age 67, this fixture in one of the hottest rock ’n’ roll bands of our time has no plans of slowing down.
“There’s no time for pain, especially when I am on stage and the adrenaline is flowing,” says the charismatic, 6-foot-3-inch tall, 240-pound Singer Island, Fla., resident known as Big Man in the biz.
“Being on stage is like no other experience in the world. It certainly takes my mind off the aches and pains,” says Clarence with a laugh. Diagnosed in his 30s, Clarence first had hip pain, which eventually spread to his knees, requiring each of those joints to be replaced. He underwent bilateral hip replacement 15 years ago and had both knees replaced last fall, recovering in time to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
Currently on tour with Bruce and the band – performing three-hour shows a night – Clarence stays in top physical and mental condition with a regimen of daily stretching, cardio and strength training workouts, combined with a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, a multi-vitamin, glucosamine and fish oil. “Bruce is such a high-energy person, if I didn’t work out, I would die out there,” Clarence says. “I try to stay on top of it, be prepared, be ready to do my job.
When he’s not on the road he adds strength training, such as Pilates, three times a week with a trainer to his routine. “Pilates has changed my life and made me stronger,” he says.
Clarence has sought pain relief with periodic epidurals and pain medication. He quickly decided meds were not for him. “I like staying
no sé inglés, soy de barcelona, y debo decirte si recibes éste mail, que yo he sufrido artritis reumatoide, durante tres años, pero con terapias alternativas y nada de convencional, estoy totalmente recuperada.
los médicos no entienden nada, pero la medicina alternativa y sus terapias, sí.
si puedo ayudarte aunque sea a tantos kilometros de distancia, solo mandame un mail y ya encontraré a alguien que me traduzca tu correo.
recibe todo mi apoyo desde la otra cara del atlantico.
sldos.
anna.