Special Exercises for the Aged - Essay Example

Aging is a process of becoming older, which is genetically determined and environmentally adapted. It is a constant process of growth and developmentof living beings. Human genes, environment and life style have a great influence on it. Aging is one of the most complex biological processes that involve a uniform and gradual decline of functioning of organs and body systems. This process also slows the response time to the stimuli; gradually deteriorate the physiological functions of the body. Body faces problems in adjusting to the environmental changes. There is no substance on earth, which can stop aging or extend life. Growing older cannot be impeded. Body starts aging at the time of conception and it continues aging until the body expires. Aging varies from person to person. Despite all the physiological and pathological changes, there is still no appropriate way to know the accurate age of any human body. Different people aged at different paces. Generally, age is classified into different periods. Young adulthood period is from 20-35 years, when both biological and physical activities reach their peak. Young middle age period is from age 35-45 years, when physical performance gradually decreases. During later middle age 45-65 years, women usually reach the menopause, and men reduce their output of sex hormones. At this age, the decrease in physical activity continues and may accelerate. In early old age 65-75 years, there may be a slight increase in physical activity, as an attempt to have some free time after retirement. By middle old age 75-85 years, people develop many disabilities. In final stage, the very old age, over 85 years, people become very dependent and bed ridden. Aging is somewhat ambiguous. It is probably distinct between universal aging and probabilistic aging. Universal aging is natural and programmed into the body that all the human share as they grow normally while probabilistic aging is the age changes that may happen to some of the people on the onset of different diseases. This is a result of damage, which accumulates over time. Our body is continuously undergoing complex biochemical reactions. Some of these reactions cause damage and, ultimately aging. Thus, aging is a complicated interaction of genetics, physiology and behavior. With aging, our body systems and organs make changes that affect our sensitivity to various diseases. Aging is associated with many chronic disorders. There are many inherent, inevitable and irreversible effects of aging like loss of capable of living and increase in vulnerability. Some of the effects and influences of aging can be slowed or prevented and some can even be stopped. There are things that can help us to stay healthy and can improve our chances of living for a long time. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects and problems that cause changes over time in the body systems. The most common and severe of all problems is cardiac disorder. Within the cardiovascular system, there are many associated conditions, including coronary artery disease, hypertension and congestive heart failure. The heart muscles and cardiac arteries thicken with the age and results in the lower pumping rate of the heart. High cholesterol, high blood pressure often emerges as our heart adjusts to aging. We can reverse these changes by changing our lifestyle. This will not only help to control cardiac problems but also provide us with more energy and help us live longer. An active life style has a beneficial influence on cardiovascular health. Booth has commented, “Physical inactivity is part of the disease process for a large number of important chronic disease states.” (Booth et al., 2000. P 774). Our heart is a cardiac muscle and it needs exercise. We are never too late to start exercising. We need to become more active. It makes the heart stronger. Exercise not only increases energy level but also improves muscles strength and bone density. For a proper exercise, we need to get specific guidelines of the doctor and then need to hire a personal trainer, who will make sure that we are doing the exercise correctly. A doctor’s complete prescription should have well-known FITT approach to create an exercise program. It has guidelines for frequency of exercise per week, intensity, time and type of exercise. FITT approach is flexible, can be applied to aerobics, strength and balance exercises. Exercise in the aerobic zone improves cardio-respiratory system. It also increases cardiac muscle strength. At this exercise intensity, 50% of calories burnt from fat, 50% are from carbohydrates, and less than 1% from protein. High intensity aerobic zone is not suitable for older adults. Exercise for older adults should be designed within their personal life, which includes their daily activities, their interests, and demand they need to complete every day. These exercises of their daily living situations can be incorporated more easily. Active living could be considered as exercise. Aged people should actively participate in daily activity because it requires a combine effort of many body structures and functions. For example, walking requires strength, balance and coordination. Getting up from a chair requires lower extremity power, flexibility in the ankle joint, and balance. Using many body systems simultaneously will be more beneficial to the older adult. “The secret of longevity is aerobic activity. According to Dr. Philbrick, “Better oxygenation of blood, heart, brain and legs brings us to the table and everywhere else. Never give up!” Cardiovascular exercise and aerobics together has many health benefits like lowering your blood pressure and it burns many calories. While doing exercise it is important to check your heart rate manually with the heart rate monitor. The best heart rate range is between 50% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. Aerobics training has positive impacts on both maximal and sub maximal exercise performance in elderly people. It also helps to increase as well as decrease ventilation, oxygen consumption, heart rate and blood pressure. These changes are significantly beneficial activities for a healthy living. Exercise is fatiguing if it demands more than 33-50% of the person’s maximal oxygen intake. Aging decreases oxygen transport and this result in decrease ability of the aged to perform normal activities of daily life. Full independence probably requires a peak oxygen transport of 12-14 ml/kg.min. This oxygen intake of many senior citizens drops down around the age of 80 years. An appropriate aerobic training program can increase aerobic power of 60 years old man. Aerobic condition of an aged can be improved if there is slower progress with regular training at heart rate of 110-120 beats per min. In physical weak man or in the frail elderly, heart rates rarely exceed 85 beats per min. It eliminates premature disability, decreases morbidity and mortality and a good health is preserved before death. Along with appropriate aerobics, elderly people need to follow relaxation techniques and tips for getting a sound deep night’s sleep. Exercise programs for aged can be advantageous in many ways. It increase muscle strength and endurance. It not only improves cardiovascular conditions but also flexibility, coordination and balance. It promotes relaxation, relieve anxiety, insomnia, and depression and sustain sexual vigor. It improves self-care capability, weight control and nutrition, which aid digestion and reduce constipation. Help in maximizing social contact and enjoyment of life. For healthy exercise, the elderly participants need to follow simple management guides, which will help them to create a perfect environment. While doing exercise there should be appropriate background music to avoid or minimize distractions. There are many different ways to keep one fit. In old age, the different exercises benefit our health in different ways. The best types of exercises are walking, swimming, cycling, aerobics, yoga, Tai chi, golf, dance, gyms, sex and walking the dog. In 1999, CSEP and Health Canada produced Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to healthy active living for older Adults. This guide recommends that older adults must participate in endurance activities four to seven days per week. These activities include skating, cross-country skiing, cycling, dancing and hiking. The older adults participating in these activities should do at least 10 min of continuous activity at a time and try to accumulate 30 to 60 min per day. In addition to CSEP recommendations, the ACSM indicates that the training intensity should be >55% of one’s maximal oxygen uptake level, or >40% of one’s heart rate reserve. The individuals who are unfit, the lower intensity values are most applicable. Aging process leads to progressive decrease of muscle strength and flexibility. Muscle strength is at its peak at the age of 25 years. It starts declining after 40 years of age. Apparently mass of muscle decrease. Mammalian skeletal muscle is composed of more than one fiber type. Decrease in muscle strength can be due to general hypotrophy of skeletal muscle, or a degeneration of type II fiber. Both contraction and relaxation times are prolonged. Greater changes are observed in legs than in arms because there is a decrease in use of the legs with aging. In addition, there is a remarkable decrease in the calcium content and deterioration in the organic matrix of the bones. “Changes occur in skeletal muscle with aging. The most apparent changes are decrease in muscle CSA and the volume of contractile tissue within the CSA. Changes also occur in the functions of muscle fibers, in MU firing characteristics, and in the aerobic capacity of skeletal muscle. Research suggested that regular exercise including strength and endurance training of adequate intensity can reduce some of the physiological effects of aging seen in muscle.” As aging continues, the muscles become less active and are replaced by fats and connective tissues. Only those muscles maintain size that undergoes regular exercise. Physical activity, especially weight-bearing exercise, is associated with a stronger skeleton and reduced risk of hip fracture in later life. (Coupland et al., 1988). Osteoporosis Canada recommends that children, especially those entering and passing through puberty, be encouraged to participate in impact exercises or sports. Throughout life, both men and women should be encouraged to participate in physical activities to improve strength and balance. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises maintains bone mass, improves physical fitness, endurance and functional capacity. Tai chi improves balance and reduces fall incidence. Stretching not only reduces pain but also improves flexibility and posture. Deep breathing expands the rib cage, facilitates spinal extension. Abdominal strengthening without spinal flexion improves core stability, reduces spinal compression and stabilizes the spine and pelvis. Postural correction exercises reduce the compression of the spine and therefore the risk of fracture. Maintain a good posture throughout the day is very important in normal day activities. Spinal extensor muscles and abdominal muscles need to be strong to support the spine and pelvic region during movement. Aged people with osteoporosis must avoid forward bending and heavy lifting exercises. Twisting movements are harmful for them so they should avoid golf and bowling. Older people before doing any exercise should undergo exhaustive preliminary screening including electrocardiogram. Certain precautions can help and increase the safety of exercise for the aged. Walking can be a substitute for jogging because it has a less risk of slipping. Elderly people with joint problems can do weight supported activities such as swimming. They should avoid sports that require a proper balance like cycling and skiing. Extremely frail people should take exercise in sitting position. Exercises cannot repair or restore damaged tissues, but it can help to protect the elderly against a number of chronic diseases of old age. If the older adults are unable to go to the gymnasium or hire a coach, then the best known exercise, inexpensive and easy, is walking. Walking a mile or so would help them strengthen their leg muscles and improve blood circulation. Shopping malls can be a perfect place for walking. Sit-ups is another useful and exhausting exercise. One can easily do it anywhere anytime. Climbing stairs also helps in strengthening leg muscles. Keeping a standing posture upright is good for spine. Standing in an upright position and moving the arms in vertical circles will make upper body muscles strong. These simple exercises can be performed while listening to some good music. It can improve the functions of body organs. In addition, the biological age of an old man can be decreased as much as 15 years. It is essential that older adults should not put much effort in performing exercises. They should keep activity simple and less stressful and give their muscles time to repair and relax but it is necessary to exercise regularly. As we grow older, our metabolism rate slows down. A good and regular exercise can help us maintain our weight. It can help us avoid developing diabetes and heart diseases. Increased circulation of blood in the body can help our digestive system stay healthy and keep our immune system strong. Good exercise can increase expectancy of life. Thus, it is an important component of healthy life style. Work Cited Taylor, Albert W., and Johnson, Michel J. Physiology of Exercise and Healthy Aging. Ontario, 2008. http://rapidshare.com/files/377153394/JXH4001_Reading.pdf.html Read More