Geriatric syndrome is a term that encompasses several clinical manifestations in the elderly that are not otherwise classified under a particular or singular disease or condition. These include falls, delirium, incontinence, and frailty.
The degree of muscular strength and endurance is a strong determinant of long-term overall health. It is common and unfortunate that the public often disregards these ailments and simply contribute them to old age or accept the fact that this is the way it is because one is getting older.
Did you know that 1 in 3 older adults fall at least once in a year? These falls are most often contributed to a decrease in walking speed or gait, impaired balance, or dizziness. Observe how your parents or grandparents are walking. Do they walk slowly? Is that because they are having trouble balancing themselves or are they just being cautious? How long does it take them to walk from room to room in their home? An older adult who walks slowly and has poor gait quality (hunched over, swaying to maintain balance, shuffling feet, etc) has a lower life expectancy than another older adult who walks more swiftly, upright, and who picks up their feet.
The World Report on Health and Aging has developed a tool that assesses the degree of skeletal muscle mass, which is especially important for a functional older adult. The tool assess hand-grip strength, walking speed, time up and go (how fast one can stand up and begin walking), and a short physical performance battery score (combined results of said tests).
The act of movement is critical for any body- whether it be walking, running, Yoga, cleaning, shopping, etc. Movement lowers BP, cholesterol, anxiety/depression, pain, and so much more! Add resistance training such as squatting, leg lifts, glute bridges, etc to the mix and older adults can have such a higher quality of life. The problem with Western Medicine is that our culture values the Youth, claims that a pill can cure all, and has such a large focus on tertiary medicine- treating, rather than preventing disease. With higher life expectancies, thanks to medical advances, we also need to maintain/increase the quality of life for older adults. Educating and demonstrating the 70-80 year olds to squat may just be one solution.
Until next shift,
Shania
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