Lately my social media feed has included clips of people in their 90s performing incredible feats like the 97 year old woman executing a gymnastics routine on the parallel bars, or people in their 90s completing half & full marathons, often finishing ahead of fellow runners 40 years younger than them!
If there is one pearl of advice we commonly hear from people older and wiser than us, it is to prioritize our physical health for optimal aging, allowing for continued independence and a healthy mental outlook as we get older.
Consistent exercise is one of the key factors in maintaining physical and mental health. Regular movement improves strength, mobility, weight and energy while decreasing the risk of stiffness, back pain, muscle rigidity and poor bone health (not to mention heart health, diabetes, cancer and more). Prioritizing your health and incorporating treatments to maintain healthy muscles and joints will keep you dancing into your 90s!
Most often our ability to move or chronic pain is a result of injury, surgery, illness or being sedentary. Spending hours on the computer? Commuting long hours for work? Marathon binging Netflix series? All these lifestyle factors take a toll on our health over time.
There are other factors that are less often addressed and can equally influence our musculoskeletal health. What we eat, how much and how well we sleep, anxiety, PTSD and long term stressors can all trigger inflammation and worsen our physical state.
It is important to understand which of these factors may be affecting your own mobility – or future mobility.
This is where the guidance of a Naturopathic Doctor such as myself can help. We help you understand how stress, diet and sleep patterns may be affecting you. We provide you with strategies to decrease tension, reduce chronic pain, manage stress and prevent injury. We educate on the need and benefit of pain medications, but also the potential side-effects and how to mitigate them and/or decrease your dependency.
A Naturopathic approach is part of a larger integrative system of care. The focus and goal is to support healing from within to maintain optimum function of your building blocks – for example, considering the physiology of your joints, we look at ways to support tissues like cartilage, tendons and ligaments and incorporate treatments to maintain good form.
Functional therapies including massage, chiropractic, osteopathic and fascial stretch therapy use manual manipulation and soft tissue massage to support mobility, reduce tension and help alleviate pain.
Together these therapies are essential support systems for moving smoothly into our golden years. Although your future goals may not include performing gymnastics or running marathons, you will undoubtedly improve your quality of life!
I offer complimentary 15-min consults for discussing a naturopathic approach to help you achieve your health goals.
Book with me today by contacting Movement Health at 519.567.2888 or email: dr.vincenza.nd@gmail.com
