Whether we like it or not we are all aging, but aging need not include only pills, potions and lotions to minimize the ill effects of this natural process. The key is recognizing the signs and symptoms associated with aging, and keeping mentally and physically fit. Fitness can also play an important role in mitigating back pain as we get older.
Chiropractors, perhaps more than any other medical profession on earth, offer a prescription for keeping fit and active regardless of age.
Here are two things to think about for you or a loved dealing with aging:
1. Think calisthenics—rapid walking, jogging, dancing, hiking or any other aerobic exercise designed to build endurance, but not strength. Research shows that older people can increase their general physical fitness and that can do much to keep back pain (or any other pain for that matter) at bay. Don’t forget that one of the side benefits of improved overall fitness may be increased resistance to injury.
2. Think weight training. By that I mean anything that can strengthen muscles—no matter how young or old those muscles may be. According to Successful Aging, “Even the oldest-old respond well to resistance training. Their muscles grow in size and strength much as younger people’s do.” The critical factor is not your age or initial strength, but the frequency, intensity, and duration of training. Again, a little weight training to build up weak or injury-prone muscles (think lower back) can do much to keep back pain at bay.
More important than anything is to remember that with any pain we have choices as to how we respond and what we can do to mitigate the impacts.
Keeping Fit the Chiropractic Way
Too many people think that in order to be fit they have to do some-thing extraordinary; that’s partially true. You do have to do something everyday—walk a dog, jog around the block, hike the local trail, work in the garden, do yoga, etc. But it doesn’t have to be so strenuous and intimidating that you know you won’t do it, particularly if you have back or neck pain.
Something I read recently high-lighted the importance of adopting the healthier lifestyle chiropractors have been espousing for years as a way of alleviating what ails you. The article talked about the benefits to your back, your mind and your total body health from practicing a simple fitness regimen, adopting a “positive eating plan,” and living a low-stress life. The results, not surprisingly, I believe are that people can feel better, feel happier and feel more satisfied with life. And therein lies what I consider to be this month’s chiropractic breakthrough—the realization that health and wellness comes from within.
Call it soft hearted or soft in the head, but chiropractors believe that total body health comes from within the person and how the person cares for this most magnificent machine ever created—the human body.
Let this month’s chiropractic break-through be a commitment to living better through adopting the principles of chiropractic.