“Life is about movement - everything that is alive moves.”
(1)
What a great thing to realize!
No matter your age, you really must move. As you get older, 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 inspire
us all (and our cherished family members!) to keep
active so that we can all age
gracefully. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka and our Sitka 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
scary than moving and be even a bit
calming. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka will give you that! If
you’ve ever been hospitalized, you know there is 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 get up and move around. (1) It
is 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 following an individualized
multicomponent exercise program that incorporated power
training in just 3 days! (2) In a review of the good that exercise offers for frail older adults,
researchers stressed the importance of maintaining
functional abilities for those who want to grow old gracefully.
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 at bay, and
Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka encourages that!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more prone 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 appraising
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 promising
outcomes! One study shared that frail and even “pre” frail older
patients showed better physical performance and function after
a brief (6 week) facility-based exercise program 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 reported
to contend with those feelings in older women as well as increase
life expectancy and reduce some negative effects of a
sedentary lifestyle. (6) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka thinks you will
concur that these are beneficial!
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
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.
Make your Sitka chiropractic
appointment today. You’re alive. What a wonderful thing!
Celebrate that with some movement.