Keep Moving As You Age So That You Can Grow Older Gracefully!
“Life is about movement - everything that is alive moves.” (1)
What a great thing to realize! No matter your age, you have to move. As you grow older, you have to move more (than you may want)! Life equals motion. Motion equals life. Researchers are really sharing some amazing information on this fact that will motivate us all (and our loved ones!) to move so that we can all grow old and grow old(er) gracefully. Most Chiropractic Clinic and our Murfreesboro chiropractic patients will all grow old better working together, exercising, moving, and meeting at the office for gentle Cox® treatment!
BED REST AND MOBILITY
Bed rest isn’t always best! It may be less frightening than moving and be even a bit soothing. Most Chiropractic Clinic will give you that! When hospitalized, there’s lots of bed rest, maybe even a bit too much for a patient’s liking! A study of patients in an acute care hospital ward uncovered information that inpatient mobility was negligible despite their individual capacities to move and desires to move. (1) It’s vital to keep acute patients - and those with new bouts of back pain and/or neck pain, too - moving so that they can heal! Beneficially, acutely hospitalized older patients enhanced their muscle strength and power while hospitalized using an individualized multicomponent exercise program that integrated power training in just 3 days! (2) In a review of the good that exercise offers for frail older adults, researchers emphasized the value of maintaining functional abilities for those who want to age healthily. They further emphasized that exercise and physical activity are effective to prevent of falls, hospital stays, improved cognition, etc. Exercises from power training (yes – power training for older folks!) to resistance training, balance exercises, aerobic training, walking, etc. (3) Mobility is part of keeping frailty away, and Most Chiropractic Clinic encourages that!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more susceptible to frailty, increasing our risk of several adverse health issues, both cognitive and physical. The desire we all have is that frailty is reversible. Researchers have analyzed this issue by reviewing published studies on this topic of frailty reversal. Fortunately, 56.7% of the papers proposed that it is reversible (returning a person who is frail/severely frail to a state of being ‘pre-frail’ or just mildly so). (4) Those are promising outcomes! One study said that frail and even “pre” frail older patients demonstrated better physical performance and function following a brief (6 week) facility-based exercise program that included a walking-based high intensity interval training. 64% bettered their frailty rating. Particularly, muscle power improved by 47%, muscle strength rose 34%, and aerobic capacity by 19%. (5) And other additional benefits with physical activity in general: energy and a better emotional state! Frailty and aging tend to lower energy levels and raise fatigue and emotional distress. Moving and physical activity has been reported to combat those feelings in older women as well as extend life expectancy and cut back on some negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. (6) Most Chiropractic Clinic thinks you will concur that these are positive things!
CONTACT Most Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Tom Menendez on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effective gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating the elderly.
Make your Murfreesboro chiropractic appointment today. You’re alive. What a wonderful thing, one to be thankful for by moving!
