Things Just Don’t Move Like They Used To.
Experiencing a reduced range of motion is often the first tell-tale sign of being inactive when aging. If you find that you just can’t move your joints in all the directions they could move in before; you’re a victim of diminished ROM (range of motion).
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Each joint in the body has an established “normal” range of motion, and as you age, this reduces considerably. Let’s rephrase that. This reduces considerably if you’re not consistently making use of that range of motion. Taking the time to move your joints through their full range of motion regularly is vital to aging with a healthy range of motion intact.
Joints and muscles feel stiff and seized up.
If you’re anything like most 50+ers, you might be empty nesters who have become increasingly inactive over the years. And when the nest emptied, and you stood there feeling a sense of loss as you waved goodbye to your kids on their new adventures, you were probably well aware that all the joints and muscles in your body no longer move as they used to some twenty-odd years ago. Things have stiffened, seized, and become inflexible – you’re almost expecting to hear squeaking and scraping as you move around.
Here’s some good news for you!
Even if you have already lost some of your range of motion, you can reverse the effects by actively starting stretching and flexibility training. So not only does stretching maintain (and protect) the range of motion – it can also reverse a poor range of motion too! This news alone was enough to get us started.
Sciatica Pays You a Visit
Sciatica is a painful disorder that affects many people worldwide. The worst part of sciatica is that it can come on suddenly like a thief in the night, or it can gradually work its way into your life over time. Some describe sciatica as a burning sensation that hits them square in the back and then shoots down the back of both legs or even just one leg. It doesn’t sound like fun, and it really isn’t. Sciatica is caused by inflammation and irritation of the sciatic nerve in the back.
The main symptom of sciatica is pain, and it’s not just pain in the back and legs. Some 50+ers with sciatica complain that even their hips hurt when they sit down. People cannot move their feet or lower legs in more advanced cases without experiencing severe searing pain. While sciatica almost always affects only one side of the body, the entire body is negatively impacted because of the debilitating pain it causes.
What makes sciatica a given or makes an existing condition worse is:
Being overweight
Lack of movement or no exercise (here’s where some stretching can play a good role in sciatica management)
Incorrect sleeping environment (it might be the mattress)
Poor quality sleep (sleep article here)
At this point, you’ve probably absorbed all the above information and wonder where you are on the spectrum of healthy or unhealthy. Are you making lifestyle choices that exacerbate the symptoms of aging? To help you better understand how much work you need to put in, we have created this quick self-evaluation test.
Be honest with yourself while completing this survey:
If you scored under 18, there’s plenty of room for improvement.
The main objective is to score 24.
If you did this test and see room for improvement, you’re in just the right place to get started.
NEED TO IMPROVE?
We wrote an article called KICKSTART your way back to health with the 7-Day Plan.