Banish aches and pains as you get older 💃

Already active? 
If you’re already a keen athlete or dancer, you may be used to keeping active at a high level. Or you might find that you need to slow down. You may need to adapt your routine as you get older, to reduce the risk of injury. It will be different for everyone. But if you love something, don’t give it up all together. Stay out there and stay active.Many sporting clubs now have a senior or master’s team for older members. So if the time is right, go for it. Aim to do some exercise every day. Guidelines recommend you do 150 minutes of moderate exercise over the course of each week. If you already regularly exercise, then you may want to try doing more vigorous activity for 75 minutes over each week instead. Or a combination of the two. This will give you even greater benefits.

 

New to exercise? 
If you don’t currently exercise, it may seem daunting to start. But physical activity can take many forms. Even regular amounts of light activity can improve your health. It’s never too late to give it a try. Start from where you’re at now, and you’ll soon feel the benefits.Exercise every day. Try to meet the recommended guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, but build up gradually if you need to. Some good activities include aqua aerobics, cycling, brisk walking and dancing.

Break up periods being sedentary by doing regular light activity. This could be gentle gardening, dusting, or daily activities where you are naturally moving about, such as climbing the stairs.

If you’re unable to do any light activity, see if you can stand up for a little while each hour, as this can be beneficial for older adults. Focus on walking a little bit farther rather than increasing your speed.

What about strength, balance and flexibility?
On at least two days a week it’s important to do physical activity that helps your strength, balance and flexibility. This could include lifting weights, using resistance bands, Tai chi or Pilates.Remember to listen to your body and go at your own pace. If you have any concerns about your health and exercise, speak to a doctor or physiotherapist.

Move before you get out of bed
This is an important one! Rather than just getting out of bed in the morning, you could reduce some of the aches and stiffness by doing some really simple movements of the joints and parts of your body that feel stiff and achy.

Try some ankle movements i.e draw the alphabet with your feet, you could slide your heal along the bed so you are bending the knee and then straightening them. Lift the legs off the bed and down again, you could also do some shoulder circles and arm movements.

The aim is to get your body moving before you get out of bed get the blood pumping around it so that you feel like you can move with more ease. Bruce Forsyth sweared by this and we was so agile and loved to dance right up to his passing.

Stay Hydrated
Making sure that you drink enough water as we age is even more important because it’s really easy to worry about how often you’re going to have to go to the toilet and it doesn’t taste nice.

You need to keep hydrated because it is so essential for so many different functions of your body; it can help you fight infections, it can help with your breathing, it can help with your energy levels, it can help dealing with the heat and the weather, it can help with your muscle recovery and how your nerves are working.

There are so many hidden functions in your body that require you to have enough water in your body for them to work and if you are prone to cramping it’s even more essential alongside electrolyte levels.

You need to aim for two litres in a day, if it’s hot you might even more that’s your basic minimum without any exercise. If you are worrying about peeing a lot try and do little bits and often. Have a water glass with you everywhere you go, drink a little bit and often. Don’t have a big amount in one go. Tea and coffee with caffeine do not count towards this but you can get some of your water content from your food.

If you are worried about going to the toilet at night I recommend that you stop drinking as much by about 4 / 5pm so that you’ve got all your water on board in the morning and during the day and then you’re less likely need to have to go to the toilet is often in the evening and night.

Tumeric
Do make sure that you check with your healthcare provider that you are able to take it alongside any other medication. The active compound, Curcumin, alongside black pepper or bromelain which comes from pineapples (both of which help your body absorb it) has been shown to really improve joint inflammation, which people often struggle with. Please be aware you do need it in greater quantities than you can cook with.

Feet
Visiting a podiatrist or chiropodist if you have any issues and wearing really supportive footwear are both important as looking after your feet will help you to keep doing the things you enjoy. Most people also aren’t aware that what goes on with your feet tracks up your body, so it will affect your knees, hips, back, your neck and your shoulders, so don’t underestimate and neglect your feet!

Brain Health
Did you know that activities like table tennis are really good for the prevention of Alzheimer’s, because it gets your neurone’s firing. You have to react and adapt, which is important, unfortunately suduko and puzzles are not the same as that’s like going to the gym and always doing the same exercises every time – variation is the key.

Reactive brain exercises online are really good at keeping your brain function strong, alert and healthy – these ones are great https://www.brainhq.com/

 

Sources: https://www.bupa.co.uk/newsroom/ourviews/banish-aches-pains-older?