“Life is about movement - everything that is alive moves.”
(1)
What a great thing to remember!
No matter your age, you really must move. As you grow older, you have to move more (than
you may desire)! Life equals motion. Motion equals life. Researchers are really putting out
some amazing information on this topic that will motivate
us all (and our cherished family members!) to move so that we can all age
gracefully. Wilson Family Chiropractic and our Millville 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
soothing. Wilson Family Chiropractic will give you that! When hospitalized, there
is 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 low despite their individual capabilities and desires to get up and move around. (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 incorporated power
training in as little as 3 days! (2) In a review of the benefits
of exercise for frail older adults,
researchers stressed the importance of maintaining
functional abilities for those who want to age healthily.
They further underscored the fact that exercise and physical activity are effective
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 away, and
Wilson Family Chiropractic encourages that!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more susceptible to frailty, amplifying our risk of several undesirable health issues, both cognitive
and physical. The hope we all have is that frailty is reversible.
Researchers have analyzed this issue by examining
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 just pre-frail or just mildly frail). (4) Those are positive
outcomes! One study shared that frail and even “pre” frail older
patients demonstrated better physical performance and function after
a brief (6 week) facility-based exercise routine that
involved a walking-based high intensity interval training. 64% upped
their frailty rating. Specifically, muscle power went up
by 47%, muscle strength rose 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 are
more apt 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 increase
life expectancy and cut back on some negative effects of a
sedentary lifestyle. (6) Wilson Family Chiropractic thinks you’ll
concur that these are positive things!
CONTACT Wilson Family Chiropractic
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 elderly.
Make your Millville chiropractic
appointment today. You’re alive. What a wonderful fact!
Celebrate that with some movement.