Motion is lotion

MAKE A MOVE Moderate activity, such as dancing, walking and gardening, is good for joints, muscles, metabolism and digestion, and it raises the mood.


Physio Focus
Andrew O'Brien

‘Could you write something for older people that’s not about running?’ It’s not often a physio has to take requests, but a patient of mine, a lady of a certain age, asked me recently if I could give some advice to others in that same bracket.
What though, to write about? The general aches and pains that come with aging? I once asked an elderly gentleman if he had any pain when he woke in the morning, and his reply was ‘Son, if I didn’t have some pain in the morning, I’d be worried I might be dead’. So if we don’t want to be completely pain-free – just in case – what should we do as we age to at least maintain what we’ve got?
From a physiotherapy perspective, I could answer this and probably three-quarters of all questions I get asked with the same word. Move. And the real beauty is that we’re not talking about exercise as such – no going to the gym, running or lifting weights – just regular, low-intensity movement.
You may have heard of the term Blue Zones; those parts of the world where people live measurably longer lives. The five regions identified include part of Sardinia, Okinawa in Japan, the Seventh Day Adventist communities of Loma Linda in California, the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica and the island of Ikaria in Greece.
Researchers found six common characteristics shared by communities within Blue Zones that are thought to contribute to healthy longevity: family is placed ahead of other concerns; constant moderate physical activity is an inseparable part of life; low smoking rates; semi-vegetarian diet; social integration such that people of all ages are socially active and integrated into the community, and legumes are a commonly consumed food.
As I said, from my perspective, the most important factor listed above is movement. General movement keeps joints mobile and muscles active, it improves metabolism and digestion and it raises mood.
Obviously, the type of movement depends on what needs to be done, and what is safe to do. But think of the endless possibilities that aren’t hard work, and start with them. Walking, gardening, dancing, hanging out the washing, cooking, cleaning, swimming, playing with the grandkids; the list is as long as your imagination.
The interesting thing about the Blue Zones is that they tend to be areas where there isn’t extreme wealth. Thus the residents are more likely to be walking everywhere and producing more of their own food, so working in the garden. I think it’s quite instructive that the healthiest elderly people I’ve ever known have all been either farmers or keen gardeners, or both.
‘My garden is too big, the mower is too heavy and the weather isn’t great’ will be the first arguments I hear (personally I’d add that I hate mowing the lawn as well!). But that’s fine, get someone else to do the hard work and grow pot plants on the window sill. You still need to be up and about to tend to them, and it’s the lower intensity movement that’s best for you.
Almost anyone who comes to see me with lower back pain gets the same three or four exercises to work on, regardless of age or intensity of symptoms. Why? Because they’re easy to do, relaxing and they don’t hurt.
The best one of them, and the one I do myself at least once every day, is the simplest. Lying on your back with your knees bent, roll the knees from side to side in a windscreen wiper type motion for a couple of minutes.
I’m certain that university-based researchers could tell me the exercise shouldn’t work for some reason or another, but it does, simply because it creates movement in an area of stiffness and, like a rusty hinge, a small movement can give way to a bigger movement and a feeling of wellbeing. Maybe it’s just psychological, maybe it’s physical. It doesn’t really matter, because motion is lotion!
And so to my patient who asked for special advice for the older population, I say sorry, but the advice is the same for everyone – just keep moving! As George Bernard Shaw said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

> Andrew O’Brien is a chartered physiotherapist and the owner of Wannarun Physiotherapy and Running Clinic at Westport Leisure Park. He can be contacted on 083 1593200 or at www.wannarun.ie.