“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 putting out
some great information on this fact that will inspire
us all (and our loved ones!) to exercise so that we can all age
gracefully. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn and our Ashburn 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. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn will give you that! If
you have 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 uncovered information that inpatient
mobility was low despite their individual capabilities 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 they
were in the hospital following a personalized
multicomponent exercise program that integrated power
training in just 3 days! (2) In a review of the benefits
of exercise for frail older adults,
researchers stressed the value of maintaining
functional abilities for those who want to age healthily.
They further stressed that exercise and physical activity are valuable
for the prevention 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
Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn encourages that!
FRAILTY AND MOBILITY
Those of us over 65 years old are said to be more at
risk to frailty, increasing our risk of several undesirable health issues, both cognitive
and physical. The desire we all have is that frailty is alterable.
Researchers have studied this issue by reviewing
published studies on this topic of frailty reversal. Luckily,
56.7% of the papers proposed that it is reversible (getting
a person who is frail/severely frail to a state of being ‘pre-frail’ or just
mildly so). (4) Those are hopeful
outcomes! One study said that frail and even “pre” frail older
patients demonstrated better physical performance and function after
a brief (6 week) facility-based exercise routine that
included a walking-based high intensity interval training. 64% improved
their frailty rating. Specifically, muscle power went up
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 lower energy levels and increase
fatigue and emotional distress. Moving and physical activity has been reported
to fight those feelings in older women as well as increase
life expectancy and lower some negative effects of a
sedentary lifestyle. (6) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn thinks you’ll
concur that these are positive things!
CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn
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 Ashburn chiropractic
appointment today. You’re alive. What a wonderful fact, one to be thankful for by moving!