The Joy of Growing Older

By Deborah Holmes, PT

Complete Physical Therapy

. http://www.phystherapy.com/

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The Joy of Growing Older

Are you past fifty years of age? Or perhaps even beyond sixty-five years, the retirement age for many persons in the United States? Do you find old age robbing you of the joy of living? Does life seem to be a burden? It need not be so.
Can old age be enjoyed instead of merely being endured? One of the most important factors to enjoying old age is adjustability. Adjustability primarily has to do with giving more thought to your physical and mental health. This requires consultation with a team of experts, including your health care team to achieve physical health. Lets briefly discuss good health through physical activity.
Never Stop Moving
Getting sufficient exercise is important. Often physical exercise makes the difference between enjoying life at seventy and being burdened by aches, pains and boredom at the same age. No matter what your age, you can improve your health by exercising. There are many kinds, such as walking and swimming, which can be more or less enjoyable. But whether enjoyable to you or not, adjust to exercising more doing so, of course, gradually and under the supervision of your physical therapist.
I find that with my elderly patients, many were very active in their early adult years and still may have been active up until our encounter. Others had slowed down and adopted a sedentary life style. When a patient continues to be active throughout the years, this gives them an advantage when an illness affects walking, balance, strength, endurance or coordination.
Usually when a physical therapist meets a client, it is after they have experienced a musculoskeletal problem that creates pain and affects movement or mobility. Often they are just recovering from surgery or have had a recent hospitalization. Physical therapists can identify the structures that are affected and then design a specific rehabilitation program to restore function.
Understand the Challenges
It is not unusual for the patient to need time to adjust to their new illness or diagnosis. The medical team is instrumental in helping the patient with his health care decisions.
Growing older with understanding is important in enjoying this period of life. It is important to keep the body and the mind active. New things can be learned and can be enriching. It may take longer to relearn how to do tasks that were done automatically before an illness or injury. Brain-cell connections may have been affected. However, muscles can be strengthened and mental training conditions the brain.
Old age can be enjoyable. It can be a time of peace of mind, of contentment and happiness. Old age should bring with it wisdom and learning to adjust in matters of physical health. By concentrating on what we are able to do rather than being discouraged by what we can no longer do, we can retain a sense of accomplishment.