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How You Can Avoid a Hip Fracture You
probably know someone who’s fallen and broken a hip. You may
not know that it’s not just the elderly who fall, or break their hips.
All
seniors are at risk.
No
matter what your age or level of fitness, you can take a few
simple steps – right away – to keep this from happening to you. A
new study tells a revealing story. Turns out, the signals to
your muscles start to slow down as you get older, making it harder for
your
muscles to respond. Researchers
at the University of Delaware looked at how muscles
respond when the cells that activate them, called neurons, send out
electrical
signals for the muscles to move. They
found that in the elderly, not only do muscles respond more
slowly, but neurons actually fire less frequently. At first glance this
seems
to confirm the conventional wisdom that slowing down physically is an
inevitable consequence of aging but there’s more… The
researchers discovered that strength training significantly
improves both neuron and Strength
training builds up the so-called “fast-twitch” muscles,
the kind that gave our ancestors the sudden, explosive power they
needed to
capture prey or escape from danger. These
same muscles – and the neurons that activate them – are
responsible not only for power, but for coordination, balance, and
sudden
response. Someone going up the stairs with a lot of this kind of muscle
is
simply less likely to fall. And here’s what the Delaware study proved:
This is
true no matter how old you are! Other studies show that leg strength is the number-one predictor of how active, healthy and mobile you’ll stay as you get older.3 So here’s something you can do starting right now to boost the power in your legs and hips. It’s my favorite leg workout, and the only one I do every day. They’re
called “Hindu squats.”
Repeat
at the pace of one repetition every four seconds. Once you
are comfortable with the form, you can increase your speed to one squat
per
second. Repeat until you feel winded. Rest, recover and do two more
sets. It’s
important to keep in mind that increasing your strength – not
doing “aerobics” or other endurance exercise – is what makes the
difference. In
fact, many long-duration exercises, like jogging or running, produce
wear and
tear, making your body more vulnerable to injury. With
more strength, you’ll do a lot more for yourself than avoid
injury. You’ll also boost your immune system, elevate your mood, be
more
active, melt more fat, and even prevent chronic aches (like back pain). One
final note: If you think you’re too old to get these benefits,
think again. Researchers at Tufts University’s Human Nutritional
Research
Center studied the effects of strength training on a group between the
ages of
63 and 98. Most needed hearing aids or wheelchairs. After
just 10 weeks, these “elders” saw an increase in muscle
strength, stamina and stability. Many were able to walk unaided by the
end of
the study.4 The
fact is falling down the stairs (or anywhere else) doesn’t
have to be a part of aging. You have to decide that you’re not going to
take it
lying down.
Resources 1 "Hip Fractures In
The Elderly," A Place For Mom
www.aplaceformom.com Note: The good folks at the FTC
require me to disclose that I am an affiliate of the companies that |
The risk doubles every five
years after you turn 50. Nine out of 10
hip fractures happen to people over 60. And more than 25 percent of
those
people will develop complications and die within a year.1
muscle response.2
In other words, you can “turn back the clock” on this particular
feature of
aging to help keep your mobility as you age.