What can Age Spans do for you- if you are a woman.

Do you want your physical health to be:
a.  Fragile
b.  Frail
c.  Functional
d.  Fun
e.  Fabulous

Of course, your answer is "e."

Women are good at caring for everyone else except themselves.  When they do care for themselves, it is often in the form of manicures, pedicures, and "retail therapy." 

If you were investing the $25 manicure for future gain- you wouldn't expect much return, unless, maybe, your business is tied to how nice your nails look. 

What if you could get a 300-500% return on the investment? 

This is the return that the Department of Labor and Liberty Mutual state, based on large amounts of data, that companies get on investing in ergonomics, wellness, and safety.

In people of all ages, there are predictive tests for knee injury risk, ankle instability, and development of back pain (particulary in standing). 

Did your bike store measure you to see what size bike you needed?  Did they fit the bike to your body?  Did they set up lasers to make sure your knee is tracking over your foot?  If you have pain while riding your bike, you need either you or the bike adjusted.

Is your golf swing efficient?  Does your back hurt as a result of golfing?  Has anyone checked to see if it is how your are swinging the club?

Pain is not normal.  It can be common, but is definitely not normal.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), 55% of people over 50 have osteoporosis.  80% are women.

What does this mean?
  Certain exercises can make you 89% likely to have a compression fracture
  Certain exercises can make you 16% likely to have a compression fracture

Take home message:  You can protect yourself from many injuries.. 

The NOF website also states:
   In 2005, osteoporosis-related fractures were responsible for an estimated $19 billion in costs.
  By 2025, experts predict that these costs will rise to approximately $25.3 billion.

Save money.  Invest in yourself.  Don't get injured in the first place.  The return on investment is big.

Melanie Weller PT, MPT, OCS, CEEAA, ATC
Physical Therapist
Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults

Certified Athletic Trainer
(504) 676-4338
agespans@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/AgeSpans

Answers you need to know

I remember being a teenager, coming home late, and getting interrogated by my parents about the events of the evening.  In my head I always thought "don't ask questions when you don't want to know the answers ."  
Many people I see are hesitant to find out their risk, thinking that living in oblivion is better than knowing they are in the 15th percentile compared to their age matched norms in how long they can stand on one leg.  Tests like the 6 minute walk test can predict morbidity and mortality in certain populations.  Grip strength and gait speed can also predict mortality. 

You need to know these answers for several reasons.

First, it is expensive to be ill.  For example, falls are the number two workplace injury in people 45 and older, and cost an average $34,000 each.  In people 65 and over, one in three fall each year.  Medicare averaged $9,000-13,500 in payment for these episodes, with a study of people 72 and older costing almost $20,000 per fall.  You can read more of the details on the CDC web site.

Second, our entire system  has room for improvement.  If you doubt me, this New York Times article is a good summary.  Even though the article is 5 years old, the US hasn't generated any improvement in the areas where it was ranked low. 

Third, illness is more profitable than health.  I am on the front lines of Physical Therapy wellness, offering a host of preventive services: injury prediction testing, fitness physicals, bike fitting, video running analysis, golf fitness, and more.  The challenge for the healthcare industry is to make wellness more profitable than illness.  Even the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society are dependent on illness to survive.  If everyone were healthy, we wouldn't need them.  Jon Stewart covered this issue here:
         
     http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-31-2011/how-a-bill-doesn-t-become-a-law?xrs=share_copy

The last point I will make is one of self-care.  Most of us take our cars in for routine maintenance, every  5000 miles or so, but expect our bodies to go 2 million miles without a tune up.  Do something to take care of yourself, whether it is at Age Spans, or elsewhere.  Age Spans is a great resource for establishing your baseline, tracking your progress, and troubleshooting the bumps in the road.  I promise to set you free to go do yoga, pilates, kickboxing, running, or whatever it is that fills your cup, because you NEED to exercise.  You also need to know if you are at risk for an injury.  Over 50% of cardiac rehab patients stop exercising because of an orthopedic issue.  That is why Physical Therapy needs to be inside the fitness industry, not outside. (I'll save that evolution for another blog!).  Mechanical dysfunction is predictable and preventable.

Be brave, take off your blinders, invest in yourself, do something to improve your health, and keep yourself out of the system!

Next blog:  What kind of self care you need!

Melanie Weller PT, MPT, OCS, CEEAA, ATC
Physical Therapist
Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults

Certified Athletic Trainer
(504) 676-4338
agespans@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/AgeSpans