Download Staying Active While Aging

MICHIGAN’S OWN • WELLNESS • FITNESS • NUTRITION • PREVENTION • INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
DECEMBER 2014
www.healthyandfitmagazine.com
Staying Active While Aging
Optimize your health and wellness by keeping fit
by Polly Swingle, PT, GCS, CEEAA, co-CEO and lead physical therapist with Livonia, Mich.-based The Recovery Project.
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Today’s seniors are living
longer than ever—thanks in
part to astonishing medical
advances, and also to the application of evidence-based
research that helps design
therapeutic solutions to better manage
age-related problems and issues.
While living longer is wonderful, it is
also important to live well: to enjoy a full
and functional lifestyle and high quality of
life. One of the biggest impediments to that
goal is immobility caused by loss of muscle
strength, flexibility, balance and/or depth
perception. Falls are the leading cause of
fatal and nonfatal injuries, and, according to
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one
in every three adults over the age of 65 falls.
Staying active is a crucial piece of the
puzzle when it comes to avoiding those
accidents and optimizing your health and
wellness.
Benefits
Research shows there are numerous benefits to quality exercise for seniors, including
enhanced strength and mobility, better bone
and muscle health and reduced fall risk, as
well as reducing the chances of having a
stroke and delaying the onset of diabetes.
The right combination of weight-bearing
and high intensity resistance training can
increase bone mass, bone size and bone
microarchitecture, slowing the bone mineral
density loss that begins after the age of 40
and heightens the chances of osteoporotic
fractures. It is important to note that no
other therapeutic intervention has been
shown to have this kind of simultaneous
and beneficial multi-system impact.
Exercises
The most beneficial exercise programs
for seniors are those that target age-related
“Staying active is a crucial piece of the puzzle
when it comes to avoiding those accidents and
optimizing your health and wellness.”
—Polly Swingle
weaknesses by improving strength, balance, flexibility and stability. The types of
exercises that are supported by cutting-edge
research as being most effective in building balance and strength include dynamic
balance exercises (such as standing on one
foot, using your arms to catch something,
and reaching above the head to “clean a
window”). A general exercise prescription
includes three to five weekly sessions of
30-60 minutes of combined cardio and
resistance training, with a strength training
component. Balance training requires just
5-10 minutes of work a day, with both static
exercises (standing and balancing in various
positions, on different legs, and with your
eyes both open and closed) and dynamic
exercises (adding bends, reaches and body
movements to your balances). Walking/
treadmill work is still the best aerobic/cardio exercise, and water exercise that adds
resistance is also beneficial.
Guidance
Resistance and intensity are critically
important factors when it comes to getting
the most out of your workouts. Moderate-to-high intensity exercise is required to
manifest the kind of significant physiological change that can help you achieve and
maintain lasting and impactful results. In
terms of time investment, understand that
the American College of Sports Medicine
recommends that you spend at least 150
minutes exercising per week, and that lasting physical changes will not be seen until
after at least 50 hours of exercise.
Finally, listen to your body: avoid anything that causes excessive pain, and avoid
high impact loading that involves twisting, bending or compression of the spine.
Be sure to supplement your strength and
cardio training with balancing exercises,
and provide 48 hours of rest to each muscle
exercised. Consult with a trained geriatric
therapist for additional advice on program
design, exercise selection, proper techniques
and personalized support.
Polly Swingle, is co-CEO and
lead physical therapist of The
Recovery Project. She possesses
more than 20 years of physical
therapy experience specializing
in rehabilitative therapy for
spinal cord injuries, traumatic
brain injuries and neuromuscular
disorders, including eight years at the Detroit Medical
Center’s Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. Swingle is
a Project Walk Certified Trainer, a certified clinician in
the practice of LSVT®BIG—therapy for individuals with
Parkinson’s disease, a Certified Exercise Experts for
Aging Adults (CEEAA) and a Geriatric Certified Specialist
(GCS). She is also certified in neuro-developmental
treatment, Burdenko therapy and Pilates. She earned
her degree in physical therapy from Ohio University.
For more information, call Polly at The Recovery Project
at 855.877.1944.