We are all getting older, every day. With increasing age comes a number of physical changes in the body that happen to all of us.
Once you hit your 30s, you start losing muscle mass at a rate of 3-5% per decade.
When you reach your 40s, your strength starts declining and this decline accelerates when you get to 65.
Some other changes as we get older include reduced endurance, increased stiffness, decreased flexibility, a slowing of our reaction times, reduced hearing capacity and changes to vision. These are all normal age-related changes.
Research studies suggest that muscle strength and power predict disability in old age, and mortality risk. For example, reduced grip strength can be predictive of falls in older adults.
The very good news is that there is one thing we can all do to help manage the changes in our physical body as we get older….. exercise!
Maintaining healthy skeletal muscle is vital as we age, so that we can stand upright, move around and remain independent. Maintaining muscle mass reduces the risk of falling and suffering a broken bone.
There is a huge body of evidence that supports the benefits of exercise in lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, improving mental health and brain cognition.
So, what exercise is best and how often should we do it?
The answer depends on the individual! The best exercise is the one which you want to do and you enjoy doing. The more you do that, the more you will benefit from it. If you can find a form of exercise that you can do with friends or people you know, that is even better.
At Good Country Physiotherapy, we offer a number of group exercise classes around the Limestone Coast to help people move safely.
Our very popular Functional Rehab classes are for people of any age who want to target a particular injury or dysfunction with an individualised exercise program developed by our physiotherapists and utilising our gym and pilates equipment.
Our Step Up classes are for people over 50 who want to improve their strength, balance and function. Exercise programs are individualised by our physiotherapists once again and classes are supervised. We offer monthly education sessions as part of these classes to provide information on a range of topics relevant to older adults.
Our Hydrotherapy classes will soon resume in Bordertown and offer another way for people to exercise safely, but in water.
Our Mat Pilates classes will start again in term four in Naracoorte, Bordertown and Keith, providing another option to help get the community moving, particularly for those needing something outside of normal work hours.
Many of these classes can be claimed under private health insurance or through other third party funding sources, which makes them a cost effective way to improve your health.
To find out more, call our clinics in Naracoorte 8762 1515, Bordertown 8752 2330, Kingston SE 8767 4600 and Keith 8755 1530, visit our website www.goodcountryphysio.com.au/classes or check out our social media on Facebook and Instagram.
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