@Real_EstateInfo Hilarious, but so very wise!
Use it or Lose it?
How to keep moving with oseteoarthritis
by Kathleen Trotter
So, you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Now what? Should you limit activity? Work out less strenuously? Work out more?
You can strike a balance between further injury due too over-strenuous activity, and muscle atrophy due to lack of activity.
What is osteoarthritis?
We are born with a layer of connective tissue between our joints. This tissue – cartilage – acts like a shock absorber and prevents the bones from rubbing against each other. Osteoarthritis is due to a gradual loss of cartilage, and as we lose cartilage, our bones do not glide as smoothly. When the loss of cartilage becomes extreme, the eventual result is that the bones within the affected joint rub directly against each other.
Exercise and Osteoarthritis
The important thing to know is, when done right, exercise is extremely helpful for people with osteoarthritis, as it is one of the most effective ways to minimize the pain associated with the condition. When you move your joints, you stimulate the production of synovial fluid which lines the joint. The more synovial fluid you produce the more lubricated your joints will be. On a more general level, exercise can strengthen muscles and improve balance and posture which helps the body perform daily functional activities with less discomfort.
Appropriate exercise
1. Do exercises that promote motion in your joints.
Exercising in the water can be a great way to do this. Get in the deep end of a pool with a life belt on. Run on the spot and perform various arm exercises: punch your arms forward, push and pull the water forward and back, pump your arms out to the side and do figure eights with your arms. Also, play around with different leg movements: lift your knees, kick your bum or do jumping jack legs. Don’t just stick to one section of the pool. Move around the pool: jog the pool lengthwise by pumping your legs and arms. Play around with different arm motions as you jog.
Special note: moving one’s joints is important to stimulate synovial fluid, BUT only work in a range that is pain free.
2. Try to stay away from isometric exercises because they reduce blood flow to the muscles surrounding the static joint. An isometric exercise is one where you are required to hold a position. Exercises that you should avoid include holding low in a static squats or front and side planks
3. Always do a thorough warm up.
4. Do not do high impact activity. Instead do low impact activity by always having one foot touching the ground at all times. For example,instead of doing jumping jacks, do alternating side toe taps with an arm reach.
5. Do not over stretch or do extreme joint motions. Eliminate yoga classes from your workout program, or at least be very careful participating in such classes. Do not stretch to your ultimate limits and make sure that you inquire if the instructor has experience teaching people with osteoarthritis.
6. Do not work through pain, inflammation or swelling.
by Editor
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Getting real over 50
Realistic health and lifestyle goals for baby boomers
by Kathleen Trotter
We have all made unrealistic health and lifestyle goals and then not followed through on them. Most of us have good lifestyle intentions, but we set ourselves up for failure because our goals are often unrealistic and not fully thought out.
A goal that is likely to succeed should have three components. It should be realistic, not merely aesthetic and planned.
1. The goal should be realistic. When deciding on what your realistic goal will be, think about breaking it down into several smaller more manageable goals. Smaller, more manageable goals allow us to be, and feel, successful. The feeling of success can propel us into making more small, but positive lifestyle goals. Unrealistic goals do the opposite. They have the potential to set us up for failure. Failure can make people feel discouraged and can spur an increase in the comsumption of unhealthy “comfort foods” and other negative health habits.
2. I highly suggest not picking a merely aesthetic goal. One is more likely to feel emotionally connected to the goal if it is connected to other people and events.
For example, aim to become active and healthy so you can play soccer and other sports with your grandchildren. Or, plan to get in shape to walk or jog a 5km race to raise money for a charity that means a lot to you. Think of the aesthetic benefits as secondary to the physical, social and emotional health benefits that will be achieved.
3. Make a plan of action! We all have busy lives, and without a plan, ‘life’ will often get in the way.
Let’s say your goal is this:
“I want to be functionally fit all my life so I can be active and present in my grandchildren’s lives. To do this I will have to establish an exercise regime. I want to walk three times a week, do aquafit twice a week and strength and mobility exercises twice a week”.
This goal has a purpose and for most people it is realistic. I would suggest breaking the goal down into three smaller goals and then make a plan of action for each goal. Do not assume you will be able to fit the exercise in. Plan for it.
First goal: walk three times a week for one month
Phone a friend and make a date to walk together three times per week. If you are still working full time, ask a colleague to walk for thirty minutes on your lunch break. Put the walking dates in your calendar. Treat it like any other appointment.
Second goal: two aquafit classes a week
Once you have successfully fit walking into your schedule, plan to add two aquafit classes into your weekly schedule.
Phone the neighborhood YMCA or community centre and find a convenient aquafit class. Tell your significant other the days and time of your class and find a way to conveniently fit meals or other activities around the class. For example, if your wife works late Tuesdays and Thursdays, do the class then. Or, if your husband plays bridge every Saturday afternoon, plan to participate in a class at that time.
Alternatively, ask your significant other to participate in the class with you and make it a twice weekly date.
Third goal: add in strength training
After two months of successfully walking and working out in the pool, these activities will hopefully have become lifestyle habits. It is time to add in strength training. Do some research on the internet, or speak to a health professional about safe parameters for your strength training routine.
Ask yourself if you are more likely to work out at a gym or in your own house. If you think you will be more likely to work out in the convenience of your home, buy some inexpensive hand weights and a ball and do your workout at home. Look at your day book and block off two thirty minute time slots for your strength training workout.
So, whatever your goal is, pick it and set up your plan of action and then get ready to get fit, feel energized and be active.
Kathleen Trotter is a personal trainer and Pilates equipment specialist located in downtown Toronto. She is currently completing a Masters degree at the University of Toronto in Exercise Science. Visit kathleentrotter.com.
by Editor
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