“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 grow older, you have to move more (than
you may desire)! Life equals motion. Motion equals life. Researchers are really sharing
some amazing information on this fact that will motivate
us all (and our cherished family members!) to move so that we can all age
gracefully. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries and our Manchester 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
comforting. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries 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 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 so that
they can heal! Beneficially, acutely hospitalized older
patients improved their muscle strength and power while they
were in the hospital using an individualized
multicomponent exercise program that integrated power
training in as little as 3 days! (2) In a review of the good that exercise offers for frail older adults,
researchers emphasized the value of preserving
functional abilities for those who want to age healthily.
They further stressed that exercise and physical activity are good
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
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries encourages that!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more at
risk to frailty, amplifying our risk of lot
of other undesirable health issues, both cognitive
and physical. The desire we all have is that frailty is alterable.
Researchers have analyzed this issue by examining
published studies on this topic of frailty reversal. Fortunately,
56.7% of the papers suggested that it is reversible (getting
a person who is frail/severely frail to a state of being just pre-frail or just mildly frail). (4) Those are hopeful
outcomes! One study said that frail and even “pre” frail older
patients showed better physical performance and function after
a short (6 week) facility-based exercise program that
included a walking-based high intensity interval training. 64% improved
their frailty rating. Specifically, muscle power improved
by 47%, muscle strength by 34%, and aerobic capacity rose
19%. (5) And other additional benefits with physical
activity in general: energy and a better emotional state! Frailty and aging tend to decrease energy levels and stated
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 cut back on some negative effects of a
sedentary lifestyle. (6) Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries thinks you’ll
concur that these are beneficial!
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Tom Menendez on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
details the effective gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating the elderly.
Make your Manchester chiropractic
appointment soon. You’re alive. What a wonderful thing, one to be thankful for by moving!