¼ now it’s our turn." As if propelled by a spring Evaristo sprang up from his chair and pointing to it, replied "no my darling, this is only for watching TV."The niece smiled and comments to the neighbor who witnessed the scene: "He’s turning into
a cantankerous old devil." "But he’s right," I said.
Then I thought how important it is to insist that mobility or the capacity to move around is essential to autonomy, and thus an essential component of life. Even more so for the elderly and those who wish to live to 120 or longer.
Motor capacity
is an indicator of an elderly person’s health, quality of life, and degree of independence. An elderly immobile person is treated as a patient who has a high risk of medical complications, who is dependent on others for basic everyday activities and is a candidate for institutionalization.
The immobility
syndrome is a geriatric problem characterized by a marked reduction in tolerance for exercise, the consequences of which include tachycardia, arterial hypertension, loss of automatisms and postural reflexes, making movement impossible.
It is possible to distinguish between relative immobility, in which
an elderly person is leading a sedentary life but is more or less capable of moving around independently, and absolute immobility, which implies chronic confinement with very limited postural movement.
The risk of relative immobility is confinement, while absolute immobility is a risk factor for
institutionalization and incipient mortality. This clinical profile is generally multi-factorial, potentially reversible and at certain levels, avoidable.
The best preventative measure is to maintain a certain level of mobility.
Various studies agree that exercise and general physical activity are
the main factors in warding off immobility. The benefits from exercise do not decrease with age, but increase cardiovascular functions, improve musculature and bone density, reduce anxiety, frustration and depressive symptoms and promote socialization.
Statistically, elderly people who lead an independent and
active life with regular exercise have a lower risk of mortality. Those who have always exercised age better and have less functional disabilities.
According to various studies, the population groups who exercise the least are the very elderly and women.
It is important to encourage the elderly to
remain active and if possible propose that they join senior citizen clubs. They should also be allowed to continue or to participate in everyday activities at their own pace.
Families should avoid overprotecting them, since doing tasks for them "faster and better" will only accelerate dependency levels.
Doctors should periodically evaluate the functional abilities of the elderly, as well as those who have been recently discharged from hospital.
Recommended exercise for the elderly should include periodic reviews of their physical state of
health and individual adjustments to the type of exercise and activities they can engage in.
It is also important to establish certain minimum activity objectives depending on functional ability and to teach correct techniques. The motivation of the elderly should also be assessed, as well as their capacity
for enjoyment, the major factor determining whether they will continue to exercise. .
Generally speaking, doctors’ recommended forms of exercise include walking, cycling, swimming, gardening, and aerobic exercise under medical supervision.
Although he really is a cantankerous little old devil, I
couldn’t help but laugh with his niece when Evaristo repeated: "Who says I can’t move
