Tag Archives: senior

Preventing falls

This is the time of year when seniors are most at risk of falls. Icy steps and sidewalks, slippery wet leaves, cold weather slowing reaction time and often poor light hiding treacherous outdoor conditions. So far we’ve been lucky in 2011, at least in the lower mainland, with relatively warm, albeit wet, weather and not to much of the dreaded ice about. But seniors 65 and older are the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population and the estimate is that around 1 in 3 will have at least 1 … Read the rest of this post »

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Osteoporosis in men

The  statistics are in and they aren’t pretty. The CMA (Canadian Medical Association) has updated it’s guidelines for helping physicians deal with osteoporosis and I’ll outline some of the changes of focus in both this and the next post. Today; the prevalence of osteoporosis in men. The stats say one in eight men over the age of 50 has the disease. Physicians and other health professionals know the numbers but apparently the general public doesn’t. There is still, it seems, a prevalent train of thought that osteoporosis is a bone … Read the rest of this post »

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Strength training can make you smarter

Recent research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) showed some interesting results in the field of strength training and cognitive benefits for seniors. There has been a lot of previous research that shows the positive effects that aerobic, cardiovascular exercise ( think walking, swimming, dancing ) plays in keeping people alert and mentally sharp into their senior years. Strength training however has not been studied from this point of view. Most strength studies concerning seniors have focused on osteoporosis and the overall effects of muscular strength improvements. In the UBC study, 155 … Read the rest of this post »

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Osteoporosis and exercise

This is a topic that seems simple on the surface but has some areas for real care and concern. From an earlier post http://www.west4thphysio.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=530 , you’ll remember that bones are always in transition. Building and breaking down and rebuilding again in response to the loading that is placed on them. This process of turning physical load into tissue (bone) change goes by the wonderful name of mechanotransduction. Good bone building load is gained from exercise that involves: weight bearing, that is exercise done while upright so that the force of gravity acts … Read the rest of this post »

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