Those who walked at a slow pace for at least 1 hour per week had a 40% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 39% reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, compared with inactive participants.
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"This is an observational study, not an experiment, so it means causality cannot be presumed," said Maria Fiatarone Singh, MD, a geriatrician with a focus on exercise physiology at the University of Sydney, in an interview.
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"Although walking seems easy and safe, in fact people who are frail, sarcopenic, osteoporotic, or have fallen are recommended to do resistance and balance training rather than walking, and add walking later when they are able to do it safely," she emphasized.
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If the reasons for not being able to walk were properly treated, or even diagnosed, then we might be able to walk for an hour a week. In the meantime, I am sure many of us do other types of exercise. Thanks for posting ling . Food for thought at least.
Couldn’t agree more! I was actually diagnosed with three bulging discs in my lower back by MRI last December and when I asked what treatment would be offered for this I was set adrift by being told I could self-refer for physiotherapy… I had to ask for pain killers and got Naproxen. I can’t walk because it affects my right leg and the pain, at times, is excruciating. The exercises recommended by the physios is no different than what I can learn from “Brad and Bob” on YouTube and does very little, so I’m stuck in a cycle of hurting my back by trying to protect my leg and hurting my leg to protect my back. It’s really annoying, because I used to love walking my dogs and I’ve just got a new springer spaniel pup (18 months old now) who takes more notice of my husband cos I can’t walk him, which breaks my heart.
Prior to lockdown I attended 12 weeks of NHS Physio sessions. These consisted of quite ordinary exercise classes. A different type of exercise each week and we were then expected to join a normal class. Needless to say these classes made me much worse and I had to go to my private Physio to improve matters. I never got back to how I even felt before these classes. By the end of the sessions I could barely walk and signed the sign-off form as having been made worse. Still nothing was done. These classes were certainly not fit for purpose! So sorry to hear you are still so bad and would recommend seeing a private Physiotherapist if you possibly can.
Not sure. I was just becoming more and more aware of pain in my leg and thought it might have been arthritis in my hip, but then realised it was coming from my back. The doctor referred me for an MRI and after a 3 month wait I had it and then had to wait another 4 weeks for the result… Nobody ever offered an explanation of a cause, so perhaps it’s just wear and tear.
Have you tried swimming? There are some brilliant physio classes held in water, so your body weight is supported. It may be worth asking around locally.
That’s shocking that they no longer help with this. Happened to me soon after I had my twins and I can still remember the pain. In those (good old) days I had proper hands on physio treatment. But I was also advised to swim and get massages which eventually helped. It was a long journey to recovery but the physio did help. The physio also told me to imagine I had a cardigan on all the time and to keep pulling the imaginary buttons backwards towards my spine. That helped strengthen the core muscles in the right direction. I did that every time I walked. Swimming helps to re-align the spine and takes stress off and helps the core. Good quality private physio massage helps too. Also maybe chiropractor if you can find a good one. Expensive but could help you get back out there with your young springer. Understand the heartbreak 🥺 and hope you recover soon x
Hi Buddy, sorry for the late reply. I'm up to my eyeballs. How have you been? I hope your mom's physio is going well.
My mom's going on 88 and still walking unaided. Turns out diet and exercise have been key in the last 10 years in keeping her health, strength and immune system hardy in these senior years. She still walks up to 100 minutes a week.
Dad was a lot more sickly having suffered a heart attack and stroke. However, he slow walked twice a day for 30mins each, and that extended his life by years.
This study resonates with me because of our personal experience.
Interesting Ling, my mother is like this. She's 97 and still walks to her nearest supermarket to do some shopping every other day, and once a week walks down, and then back up, a hill to meet a friend for lunch. I reckon it must be 3 hours a week at least. She's walked for years and says people need to walk to keep going. However, she's had exceptional health throughout her life, so it works both ways I suppose.
Wow that's amazing!Does your mom live with family?
Yes, i think you are on to something. Definitely good health begets good health. My mom, going on 88, has had generally good health except when she gave birth when her body was put through hell. That period has definitely reduced her life expectancy. Currently, my mother tries to do some walking daily.
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