Walking may seem like a simple task. But that’s not the case, explains epidemiologist Peggy Corson, scientific director of the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. This is a surprisingly complex behavior that continues to baffle researchers, especially those trying to understand how to improve our lives as we age.
“We don’t know why, but walking speed is associated with risk of death,” she says. Those who can keep up the pace are likely to stay longer.
And they are more likely to live better. Lack of mobility is One of the main reasons older people lose their independenceaccording to the National Institute on Aging, also Closely related to decline in cognitive function.
Walking speed over the past 10 years Emerged as the 6th vital signBecause it can predict a very wide range of health problems. “Walking involves every system in your body,” adds Jesse VanSwearingen, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. Even if doctors don’t notice anything unusual, changes in the way someone walks can be a hint that a diagnosis isn’t too far behind.
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According to the National Institutes of Health, 4 types of exercises We all need things like endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility to help us stay active. That’s just the beginning of the equation. “I think exercise is important, but it’s not a panacea that will solve all your problems. Nothing will save you,” Cawthorn says.
There’s also much we still have to learn about how the brain affects the brain as a whole, says Ong-Yi (Amy) Lo of Hebrew Senior Life’s Marcus Institute on Aging. He is also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has seen many patients whose muscles are fully functional. “But when you tell them to move, they can’t move,” she says.
So what steps should we take to protect mobility, especially as we move away from toddlerhood? Here are some ideas.
don’t stop moving
Experts agree that the worst thing a person can do is stop moving. Director of Education at EōS Fitness, Smarter recovery: A practical guide to maximizing your training results. I get pain from sitting for hours, but the days I use my hands, the arthritis doesn’t bother me as much. These help remind us that our bodies are asking us to take action.
“But you don’t have to push yourself every time you train,” says McCall. A simple routine to soften your spine, hips, and ankles On the American Council on Exercise website. “It’s like brushing your teeth. If you don’t do it for a day or two, you notice,” he says. He uses movements like curling his hips, getting down on one knee, extending his opposite arm and twisting his upper body before and after workouts, or during active recovery days.
If that seems too complicated, McCall’s suggestion is to follow the advice he gave his 80-year-old father. “I yell at him to walk and do yoga,” he says, noting that poses like cat-cow and warrior series require attention to the spine.
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Even if you’re injured, try to find something active that works for you, like swimming or cycling. “Magic is any movement that people can do,” says Lo. In her case, as a working mother with a 4-year-old child, she usually chases her child around.
Are you interested in pickleball? Or would you like to take up ballroom dancing? Don’t be afraid to learn new skills, says Jennifer Black, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. “Find a program that you enjoy and stick with it.”
train to walk with proper technique
However, to really improve your gait when it starts to decline, you need to think like an athlete. Imagine you want to play tennis but your backhand is bad. Vanswearingen says playing more tennis won’t solve the problem. You need to improve your technique. The same goes for walking.
A treadmill can teach you how to do it. “It drags your feet back and makes you take a step,” she says. It’s also easy for her to try different speeds to find the one she’s most comfortable with. For most of the population, this equates to about 1.3 meters per second, or about 3 miles per hour, Vanswearingen said. To train your adaptability, she suggests sometimes increasing your speed by 10% per minute.
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No matter what surface you’re walking on, Vance Wearingen suggests, “Start with your feet.” Rather than thinking about lifting his legs and putting them in front of him, he uses his legs to provide propulsion and push off the ground. And don’t look down unless you want to fall. “The brain wants to go where you’re looking,” she added.
The basics of this walking method are move, a 12-week course developed at the University of Pittsburgh. Rather than focusing on strength and endurance, which are the common goals of fitness classes, it emphasizes timing and coordination. “We liken it to a car. Instead of giving someone a bigger engine, our program is tweaking the system to make it work more efficiently,” Brach says. . “The more efficient you are, the more you can do.”
For example, she explains that to begin walking, you need to subtly shift your weight back and forth. “Many of our exercises start with you taking a step backwards, so once your weight is on your back foot, you can step forward to take a step forward,” says Brach. Becoming a better walker using these strategies may provide additional benefits such as weight loss and lower blood pressure.
energize your brain
After all, the part of the body that controls everything is the brain. So keep that in mind when creating your mobility protection plan. Cawthon points to the power of tai chi, which has been proven to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls. Scientists are investigating whether this is due to the physical aspects of the practice or the cognitive demands, such as learning a particular sequence of movements.
In recent research, Annual report of internal medicine Promoted the beneficial effects of Tai Chi, which “enhanced cognitive abilities”. Participants with additional brain teasers— spell words backwards and forwards As they progressed through each pose, they performed better on mental cognitive tests than those who did standard tai chi or stretching exercises.
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Finding ways to protect yourself from dementia can be a challenge, Lowe said, noting that half of people with dementia experience a fall, compared to 30% of the general elderly population. Point out that there is. However, a variety of promising interventions, such as non-invasive brain stimulation, may help improve mobility.
Many older adults are aware of recommended physical activity guidelines, but don’t follow them, explains Lo. There, she has been studying what happens when behavioral counseling is combined with several electrical current zaps that target areas of the brain associated with motivation and executive function. She says participants who received the stimulation took more steps on average than the control group and maintained that number even months later.Other research is also underway Improving unstable gait using brain stimulation For elderly people.
She also works with music therapists to experiment with musical stimulation. “Older adults with dementia or Parkinson’s disease may not be able to initiate movements on their own, but if you play music, they can follow,” Lo says.
Start planning now
So when should we face the music of our mobility? There is no clear answer as to when walking problems begin to occur. “You should be as active as possible at any age,” says Cawthon, noting that healthy people in their 20s and 30s are best suited to meet the challenges of aging in the future. points out. “The best time to start is now. The next best thing is tomorrow,” she says.
One of the key moments to consider mobility is when deciding where to live. Are you moving to a one-story building or a multi-story building? Is there an elevator? “It’s hard to imagine that when you buy a home, you might want to install a ramp,” Cawthorn says. But a mobile-friendly home can make a big difference in how comfortably you can move around your environment.
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What’s on the outside is just as important. “When you live in an area with good sidewalks and low crime rates, you want to get out and walk,” Brach said. Areas where it is easy to walk to errands also encourage seniors to stay mobile.
VanSwearingen recommends paying attention to how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. For example, let’s say he needs to get up from his chair and walk across the room. I hope it’s an idea of little note. But if you notice that he’s focused on how to accomplish the task, that’s a red flag. “When that thought pops into your head, it’s time,” she says.
