Senior & Physical Activity & Staying Safe

Article 4 of Series 1

This article is the fourth in a Series of articles on Physical Activity with concentration on seniors(adults over the age of 50)

Ensuring safety goes a long way!

Age is no bar to undertake Physical activities or Exercise programs. To be active, a person does not necessarily need to be completely physically fit or be devoid of any ailments. People with long term conditions like arthritis, diabetes or heart disease can also be active.

However, with age, especially seniors, safety is the prime factor while undertaking any form of physical activity. Staying safe at all times, whether starting any or a new physical activity, getting back into physical activity after a long time or break or going to the next level of difficulty in physical activity goes a long way.

Safety tips for Endurance, Strength, Balance, Flexibility activities.

In our previous article (Article 1 of Series 1), Seniors and Physical Activities, an introduction was made to the four types of physical activities namely Endurance, Strength, Balance and Flexibility.

In this article, we provide Safety tips that one should remember and undertake while performing the activities.

Endurance

Endurance, or aerobic, are physical activities and/or exercise that basically increase your breathing and heart rate.

Safety Tips:

1. Ensure that you drink plenty of liquids while doing endurance activities especially the ones that make you sweat a lot.

2. Always do a little light activity to warm up before your endurance activities and a little light activity to cool down after you endurance.

3. When doing activities outdoors, dress appropriately and in layers so that you can remove or add clothes depending whether it gets hot or cold.

4. To prevent injuries, be sure to use safety equipment.

5. If you walk at night, ensure that you walk in well-lit areas. Also always be aware of your surroundings.

Strength

The main goal of strength exercises is to make your muscles stronger.

Safety Tips:

1. Where you are unsure about doing a particular exercise, always talk to your doctor before attempting the same. This is more so important for seniors who have had hip or back surgery.

2. Proper and smooth breathing is essential during strength exercises. It is incorrect to hold your breath during strength exercises, which can cause changes in blood pressure. Breathe in slowly through your nose and breathe out slowly through your mouth.

3. Breathe out as you lift or push, and breathe in as you relax.

4. The use of smooth and steady movements is essential while conducting strength exercises to prevent injury. Avoid jerky movements at all costs.

5. Muscle soreness lasting a few days and slight fatigue are normal after muscle-building exercises, at least at first. After doing these exercises for a few weeks, you will probably not be sore after your workout.

Balance

Balance exercises are designed to enhance your stability and increase confidence. For seniors, balance exercises are especially important as they help prevent falls, which is a major occurrence with older population.

Safety Tips:

1. If you feel unsteady in doing any of balance related exercises, ensure that you always have a sturdy chair or a person nearby to hold on to.

2. Always talk with your doctor if you are unsure about doing a particular balance exercise.

Flexibility

Flexibility exercises stretch your muscles, help your body stay limber and prevent injury.

Safety Tips:

1. It is prudent to talk with your doctor before doing lower-back flexibility exercise where you have had back or hip surgery in the past.

2. Warming up before stretching exercises is a must to prevent injuries. Where you are only doing stretching exercises, you can warm up with a few minutes of easy walking first. If you are doing endurance or strength exercises, stretch after, not before.

3. Breathe normally while holding a stretch.

4. If you feel a mild pull while you are stretching, it is normal. Where you feel a sharp or stabbing pain or joint pain, you are over stretching and need to reduce the stretch. If the pain does continue after you are finished with the exercise and does not subside, then you might want to consult the doctor.

5. Always stretch with a smooth, steady movement. Don’t jerk or bounce into the stretch; it may cause injury.

6. Avoid “locking” your joints. Straighten your arms and legs when you stretch them, but don’t hold them tightly in a straight position. Always keep them slightly bent while stretching.

Talking with Your Healthcare Provider

For most people, it is not imperative to check with their health care provider before commencing on a physical activity.

Who should consult with their doctor before commencing on physical activity?

Seniors, it is always recommended to consult your doctor where:

1. You have had a hip or back surgery

2. You have any form of heart or related ailment

3. You are diabetic

4. You have arthritis

5. You suffer from any long term medical condition

Where you do not suffer from any ailment or have not had any past surgeries, it is yet recommended to talk to your health care provider if you aren’t used to energetic activity and you want to start a vigorous exercise program or significantly increase your physical activity.

Nevertheless, it is always prudent to discuss your physical activity levels with your health care provider as part of your ongoing health care.

Ask how physical activity can help you, whether you should avoid certain activities, and how to modify exercises to fit your situation.

Other reasons to talk with your health care provider:

• Any new symptoms you haven’t yet discussed
• Dizziness, shortness of breath
• Chest pain or pressure
• The feeling that your heart is skipping, racing, or fluttering
• Blood clots
• An infection or fever with muscle aches
• Unplanned weight loss
• Foot or ankle sores that won’t heal
• Joint swelling
• A bleeding or detached retina, eye surgery, or laser treatment
• A hernia

General Tips for Physical Activities

For Senior’s who walk outdoors as part of their physical activities, it is important to understand that UV rays contribute to all kinds of eye problems. Investing in sunglasses which have both UVA and UVB protection and that block light from the top and sides is beneficial.

While doing any physical activity, should you start getting tired more quickly than usual, you should quit early. And if you get a headache or feel dizzy, get out of the heat right away and drink more water.

Be aware of heat stress and know that it is cumulative. You’re more likely to suffer from heat-related problems if you exercised in hot weather yesterday, even if today is relatively mild.

Take extra care when it’s humid. Sweat cools your body by evaporating into the air; if the air itself is full of moisture, the mechanism is much less efficient. That means warm, humid weather can affect you as much as or more than hot, dry weather.

If you’re walking or doing physical activities on concrete streets or sidewalks, make sure your shoes have plenty of padding or gel support to make up for the lack of “give” underneath.

If you live in a city, always check your local weather report for Air Quality Index or Pollution Standards Index; when ozone or carbon-monoxide levels are over 100, consider moving your workout indoors. Avoid traffic-filled streets.

If you are prone to allergies, plan your walks or outdoor physical activities carefully. As pollen counts are highest in the morning, work out after 10 a.m. or stay inside. Shower well after outdoor exercise.

A little dehydration raises your heart rate while decreasing its efficiency, and a lot of dehydration is just plain dangerous. Make sure that you are sufficiently hydrated, drinking 16 to 32 ounces of water before you go outside.

Dress appropriately for the outdoor activity that you are doing.