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Nowadays everyone is telling you to exercise, but is it good for you, or are you hurting yourself more? Seniors have worry about arthritis, falls, and lack of muscle mass, so what can they do?

In this month’s article we are going to talk about some of the effects of exercise. First, let’s start by disproving myths. Exercise does help people of all ages with balance. Simply put, better balance means less falls. In the senior population, this is a big deal. Exercise forces you to use small support muscles in your body that give feedback of your position in time and space to your nervous system and brain. This feedback allows us to avoid objects like a wall and to adjust to uneven surfaces such as a hole in the ground. In fact, we don’t even think about this many times because our brain processes this information and our bodies change course to avoid the potential hazard. Arthritis in any joint reduces its ability to sense its position in time and space, but it does not completely eliminate it. That’s why continuing to exercise is important.

Low impact with low to moderate intensity exercises, for 30-60 minute 3-5 days a week, has been shown to help reduce the painful effects of arthritis. This exercise can be cardiac conditioning or strength training. Remember, to have good bone density, you have to strength train. To add good bone density, you need calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D, Parathyroid hormone, and strength training. Any shortage in one leads to a reduction in bone production.

Strength training, regardless of age, has been shown to increase muscle mass and tone. Obviously, the type of workout you do effects the muscle. High repetition weight training with low weights is focusing on tone. Low repetitions and high weight focuses on muscle bulk and size. Research has now shown that people of all ages can use Creatine, a body building muscle protein supplement. This helps to rebuild muscles quickly and actually leads to an increase in strength and physical mass of the muscle. This research was done in Canada on a group of 30 men with an average age of 70 years. After only 12 weeks, the group as a whole was able to do 40-60% more with their legs. Now that you know that exercise is your friend, and a good friend at that! Get out and exercise more.  A moving joint is a healthy joint!