Diminished Physical Capacity In Seniors: How Much Of It Is Necessary?

Discussion in 'Health & Wellness' started by Ken Anderson, Feb 4, 2018.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    My thoughts on this issue parallel those in my other thread about diminished mental capacity, but I didn't want to change the subject of that thread by posting it in that thread.

    While I will concede that few seventy-year-olds are as physically fit as they were when they were thirty, how much of our impairment are we bringing on ourselves? I'm mostly talking about myself when I say that, but I strongly suspect that it would hold true for others as well.

    I am 66 years old. I am not hugely fat but I am overweight. My knees hurt, and when I do something strenuous such as cutting trees on my land, snowshoeing in the winter, or doing construction on my continuing attic project, I hurt for quite awhile afterward. There is also a lot of it that I don't do so well.

    However, before I got to the point where these things hurt, I had gone quite a few years without being so active. As I grew older, I moved into positions that didn't require so much physical agility or movement. More and more of my job came to involve sitting at a desk in front of a computer.

    Had I kept active during my 40s and 50s, would I be hurting in my 60s?

    My neighbor is an auctioneer. He is, I think, 78 years old. Every day, he is up very early in the morning. At five o'clock in the morning, he might be loading a tractor-trailer-sized load of furniture, boxes, or whatever it is that he might be selling at auction that day, unloading it at the place of sale, then loading whatever doesn't sell. In between, he might be moving furniture, books, antiques, and stuff from houses. When he doesn't have an auction scheduled, he is constantly moving stuff in and out of his house to sell at yard sales.

    He is more than ten years older than me but he is not overweight, and I don't think his knees hurt.
     
    #1
  2. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,568
    Likes Received:
    16,301
    Not sure - I was 'very' active but health problems came upon me and vertigo definitely made me slow up
    I think you can be over-active, so like all things, better in moderation. I've seen very active people having to have joints replaced.
     
    #2
    Holly Saunders likes this.
  3. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    For many of us I believe the answer to the above would be that we bring alot of our impairment on ourselves. The old adage if you don't use it, you will lose it is especially true for those in old age.

    Being mostly couch potatoes, or having jobs where you sit you behind a desk most of the day, not having a regular exercise regiment of at least 150 minutes or more a week, not eating regular healthy meals, etc. all contribute to the impairment of our aging bodies and minds.

    With our Medicare Advantage Plan we get free Health Club membership...yet this is our second year with our Plan and we have not used this benefit once. They also offer us free health advise, etc. online and I filled out a questionaire there to see what was my real age body wise. I am going to be 67 in a few weeks but the answers to my questions showed body wise I am at least 71. :(

    When we were young we naturally kept more active and we did not let an ache here or a pain there keep us down. As we have aged our aches and pains stop us in our tracks often...yet in many cases if we start moving and gently using those places in our bodies that are causing us problems...the problems will lessen and in time maybe even go away completely.

    @Yvonne Smith is proof that our health and bodies can see improvement no matter what age or shape we are in. We just have to make up our minds that we have to take and active part in helping ourselves get past our impairments...and then start doing the things we know will help us.

    There may be certain things we just cannot do anymore...but there is always something we can do to improve our health and fitness and the more we do those things the less impairment we will have.
    images (19).jpg
     
    #3
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
  4. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,358
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    I don’t mean to,sound like I’m harping on the subject of our hobby of ballroom dancing ,but we are 70 and 72 (me)
    And we are youngsters compared to some of the other couples who dance at the same venue as us
    I had a dance with a man last night who is almost 95 years old his wife is 93 They dance like they are in their mid 40’s
    We personally know approx 150 different dances and each consists of a set of steps ( its not freestyle dancing)
    It takes brainpower to remember each dance ...
    So to,cut a long story short ...we will continue dancing to keep fit in mind and body as long as we can because we are just not the type that would accept going into care when we are” Old”
     
    #4
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
  5. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    @Kate Ellery That's wonderful that you and your husband found something you both enjoy to keep your bodies and minds active.

    When I was younger dancing definitely was something I really enjoyed...although I never have tried Ballroom dancing and I don't think my husband would be interested in that at all. It would be nice though to find something we both like and would enjoy doing together to keep our bodies and minds active too.

    You've given me food for thought here...so thanks. :)
     
    #5
    Kate Ellery likes this.
  6. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,358
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    Thank you for your kind comments @Babs Hunt
    We only started dancing 9 years ago at a local dance then we were no longer satisfied with the repetivite dances they do here in the small country area we live in ,so we ventured to,the city to learn more advanced dances .
    It was our goal to dance in every city in Autralia which we have achieved ..in every state except Tasmania
    We dance what called new vogue ballroom
     
    #6
    Bill Boggs and Babs Hunt like this.
  7. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    My young Nephew who is a College Professor does Ballroom dancing and he loves it and even competes in Competitions. :)
     
    #7
  8. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,358
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    We are only social dancers babs ...
    I’ve just had 8 weeks off dancing beacuse I had surgery in mid November and wasn’t allowed to,dance
    Last night was the first full night of dancing we have danced in 8 weeks ( we have been to dances but only got up,for a simple one or two )
    My legs let me know today that I haven’t danced for a while ....
     
    #8
  9. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    @Kate Ellery Social dancing is just fine.

    I guess that is the way my Nephew started out too...but then he liked it so much he decided to enter Competitions. :)

    If I ever started dancing again it would be just social dancing too. The Senior Centers over here offer that and I remember when an Aunt and Uncle of mine retired and started taking the dancing classes at the Center...they really enjoyed their too.
     
    #9
  10. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,568
    Likes Received:
    16,301
    @Kate Ellery absolutely agree with you,dancing has to be the best form of exercise
    If I'd have kept going with the dancing I would have faired better I'm sure
    I miss it so much but with vertigo, its impossible
     
    #10
    Bobby Cole and Chrissy Cross like this.
  11. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,630
    To face some facts, no matter what we do or how we do it, we no longer are, what we were, in our younger years.
    Stuff happens as naturally to seniors as it does to the younger ones. The problem is that we, as seniors, not only take on the brunt of the natural transition of aging but are also paying for whatever we did to ourselves when we were invincible.

    For me, I am not really sure when the thought of invincibility and some sort of subconscious death wish became a series of "better not's" but it did happen and I slowed down to a near crawl. Payment was due for the sins of my youth and I was paying dearly and the natural parts of aging became all to apparent.

    I really do not wish this to turn into any kind of testimonial because most here already know the story about my wife and I. Bottom line is that we both found out that while there is no fountain of youth, there are soooo many ways to make aging much easier.

    The OP asks, is it all necessary? Some of it yes. Yes, our hormones are going to slow down and yes, our joints, eyes and ears are going to start failing us and of course, we're just going to face reality and sit back and take it whilst awaiting for them to close the lid.
    Uh, the last part of that last sentence is what my wife and I decided to change. We were not simply going to wait things out but take matter into our own hands and brains. Some of that stuff isn't necessary and we went about our way to prove it.

    A lot of it is attitude and faith. In attitude, knowing that there is something we can do about it and doing it whilst at the same time having enough faith to know that our efforts are not going to go unrewarded. Mere research and knowing is nothing without putting everything into practice and no runner ever won an award by sitting on the bench.
    Over the past 2 or 3 years, there is one thing that is extremely noticeable at the gym where we go for training. Directly after the New Year, the membership and number of people working out nearly doubles or triples for about, oh, a month and then drops off dramatically. In this case, there are a lot of bodies which are more than willing, but a whole lot of weak spirits. They do not realize that things just do not change overnight. It takes time just as it took time to get in whatever bad position we were in. And yes, it's going to hurt both physically and mentally. The body may ache for a while but it really does not mind. As long as we are not tearing up some ligaments and tendons or overstressing our joints, our bodies can take pretty much anything we give it to do and actually prepares itself to do more.

    Perhaps a good perusal of the book by Norman Vincent Peale "The Power of Positive Thinking" might be of good use but in the end, the power of positive doing is just as important as positive thinking.
     
    #11
  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I think that there are some things we can prevent/minimalize and some things we can’t.
    As Ken questioned, would we still be healthier if we stayed active throughout our life; and I think that the answer to this is that, yes, we would.
    Activity helps so many of our organs, our digestive and pulmonary processes work better, and keeps our muscles strong enough to continue doing activities that we want to do, and need to do.
    The other side to that, is that if we have some kind of unavoidable accident or illness and we lose the physical condition, then we often can’t continue the physical activity.
    When I was 57, I lived in the country, in my little trailer on about 40 acres (part of a larger acreage that belonged to my family).
    I worked 10-12 hours every day, came home and did farm chores (dragged around 100 lb bales of hay, carried buckets of water, shoveled snow, etc) and on my days off, I would often ride horseback all day long, into the Idaho mountains with a friend who knew all of the trails. Each night, I walked 3-4 miles with my dog.
    I could still do basically everything that I had been able to do all of my life.

    If my heart had not gone into a-fib and heart failure, I would have probably still been able to do at least most of those things; but overnight practically, I was unable to even walk out the driveway to the mailbox. I stayed that way for over 10 years, until I was old enough for Medicare, and my doctor sent me for a heart procedure in 2014.
    After that, my heart improved, but my body had lost all of its muscle strength; so I have been working on regaining at least some of that health and energy level back.
    I don’t expect to ever get back to where I was, but I am getting better , albeit very slowly. At this point, just holding my own where I am at, or even slowing down the aging process would be fine with me.
    To that end, I am always reading about something that might help me live a better quality of life, and testing it out. (That is why you guys get all of the threads on here about everything from pineapples to pH levels to green smoothies.)

    I think that no matter where you are in your life, it is important to keep trying and do as much as you can.
    At our age, it is tempting to just say “what does it matter” , and eat unhealthy foods and live a sedentary life. But , taking care of yourself can well make the difference of whether the rest of our life is enjoyable, or just an existence of pain and misery.

    (Back off of my soapbox now...)
     
    #12
  13. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2015
    Messages:
    19,089
    Likes Received:
    18,917
    I just got a letter from my supplemental insurance that says I'm eligible for Silver Sneakers fitness program so I'm going to be checking out the different locations that they say are near me and I can access for free.

    What I'm looking for is one that has treadmills and maybe a bike.

    Curves by my house is on the list but I don't like Curves...I was a member for a short while when I moved to Fresno.
     
    #13
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
    Bobby Cole likes this.
  14. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2015
    Messages:
    19,089
    Likes Received:
    18,917
    Here is the letter I got...part of it. @Yvonne Smith are you familar with any of the other gyms mentioned aside from Curves?

    IMG_1910.JPG


    Curves is walking distance...so I would even get some walking in but if it's still that circuit...I'm not interested....I can't remember if they had treadmills. Maybe they've changed in 14 yrs.
     
    #14
  15. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,630
    I could be badly mistaken but I think the Y accepts Silver Sneakers and many people do not know it but some hospitals (like one of ours) has a full blown gym and swimming pool.

    I am not too fond of some of the trendy gyms like Planet Fitness and maybe the Curves you wrote about because they tend to be judgmental. The good ones provide some positive reinforcement not only from the staff but from the members as well.
     
    #15
    Chrissy Cross likes this.

Share This Page