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 remember! No matter your age, you have to move. As you age, you have to move more (than you may want)! Life equals motion. Motion equals life. Researchers are really putting out some great information on this fact that will motivate us all (and our loved ones!) to move so that we can all age gracefully. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic and our Montreal 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 is not always best! It may be less scary than moving and be even a bit calming. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic will give you that! If you’ve ever been hospitalized, you know there’s a lot of bed rest, maybe even too much for your liking! A study of patients in an acute care hospital ward found that inpatient mobility was low despite their individual capabilities and desires to move. (1) It is so important to keep acute patients - and those with new bouts of back pain and/or neck pain, too - moving to get them better! Beneficially, acutely hospitalized older patients enhanced their muscle strength and power while hospitalized following a personalized multicomponent exercise program that incorporated power training in as little as 3 days! (2) In a review of the good that exercise offers for frail older adults, researchers stressed the value of preserving functional abilities for those who want to grow old gracefully. They further emphasized that exercise and physical activity are good to prevent of falls, hospital stays, enriched 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 at bay, and Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic encourages it!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more at risk to frailty, amplifying our risk of several adverse health issues, both cognitive and physical. The desire we all have is that frailty is reversible. Researchers have studied this issue by examining published studies on this topic of frailty reversal. Luckily, 56.7% of the papers suggested 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 positive outcomes! One study said that frail and even “pre” frail older patients showed better physical performance and function after a brief (6 week) facility-based exercise program that included a walking-based high intensity interval training. 64% upped their frailty rating. Particularly, muscle power went up by 47%, muscle strength by 34%, and aerobic capacity rose 19%. (5) And other advantages with physical activity in general: energy and a better emotional state! Frailty and aging tend to decrease energy levels and increase fatigue and emotional distress. Moving and physical activity has been described to fight those feelings in older women as well as extend life expectancy and lower some negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. (6) Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic thinks you will concur that these are beneficial!
CONTACT Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Tom Menendez on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating the older patient.
Schedule your Montreal chiropractic appointment soon. You’re alive. What a wonderful thing! Celebrate that with some movement.
