As boomers dominate the senior population, they are redefining the process of aging. Their parents’ generation was content to sit back and relax during their retirement years; not so boomers. They’re more likely to take an expedition to the Antarctic than to sit around the pool of a Boca condo. They plan to stay younger longer, and to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
[falls]
When we are young, we hit the deck recklessly: racing for that pop-up, blocking a shot on goal or zooming down a ski run way over skill level. But aging doesn’t have to mean inactivity; in fact, it shouldn’t. There are plenty of things we can do to increase the likelihood of strong, healthy bones well into our senior years.
better odds
More than one in three people over the age of 65 fall each year, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). But the key, experts say, is to minimize that risk. “As we get older, our muscle mass decreases,” says Clint Schambach, a personal trainer with Level Up Fitness in Ballwin. “For every decade after the age of 35 or 40, we lose 10 percent of muscle mass.”
The senses of balance and sight also decline, says Dr. Robert A. Sciortino of Jones and Sciortino Orthopedics in Chesterfield. “Even in people who don’t have Alzheimer’s, there is a natural worsening of balance caused by atrophy of the cerebellum, the balance center of the brain. If there is trouble with eyesight or mobility of the neck, people can’t see something on the floor.”
hone the hips
Why do so many people suffer hip fractures? “That is where people tend to land when they fall,” Sciortino says. “The hip also is a weak point and high-stress area. The femur is a long bone that has a lever arm, and it is where a lot of bone loss occurs.” Hip fractures often require surgical repair, and Sciortino is a proponent of the newer SUPERPATH®, which is less invasive than traditional surgeries and requires a smaller incision and less dislocation of muscles and tendons.
Water aerobics have become very popular with older folks, but Schambach advises them to exercise on land, too. “There is a huge upside to water aerobics,” he says, “but since there is no weight bearing on the bones when you are in the water, there can be an increased amount of bone density loss if that is the only exercise you are doing,” he says. “Supplementing water aerobics with at least 30 minutes of resistance training three times a week would give you major benefits.”
gender bias
Fall and injury risks are higher for women. “Men are starting from a higher threshold of muscle mass,” Schambach says, “so on average, they will be stronger than women.” As for bone mass, 80 percent of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis are women, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Why? “Women tend to have smaller, thinner bones than men,” Schambach says. “And estrogen, which protects bones, decreases sharply when women reach menopause.”
The odds simply are stacked against women this time. “They reach the critical loss of bone density earlier,” Sciortino says, “and certain ethnicities have a higher incidence of osteoporosis.”
bone up
Antidotes are out there. Bones can be exercised, and bone loss can be treated with medication. “Some of the losses in strength and balance can be offset very easily,” Schambach says. “The main thing is resistance training, which forces those muscles to work.”
As the muscles work, they generate increased blood flow, and that also benefits nearby bone. “If you have been inactive for a long time, just standing up from your chair and sitting down can be a start,” he notes. “Do that 15 times in a row, then move on to a treadmill and start pushing a little bit of weight around.”
To enhance strength and balance, Schambach suggests doing resistance training while standing. “The best way is to exercise without sitting on a machine, so your body is forced to stabilize through your thighs and quads.”
[massage]
While we all enjoy a good massage, no doubt, today the technique is considered more pleasurable than medicinal. But back in the day, both Eastern and Western medicine recognized the therapeutic value of ‘rubbing.’
revered practice
“The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing,” wrote Hippocrates nearly 2,400 years ago. Massage, named for ancient words describing kneading and friction, had been practiced in China for 3,000 years by the age of Hippocrates.
Today, massage is practiced the world over and has developed many different forms, says Mark Frank of the St. Louis Institute for Rehabilitative and Sports Massage in Creve Coeur. “There are more than 200 modalities of massage and they all affect the body differently,” says Frank, a licensed massage therapist. “Depending on what your ailments and needs are, one modality may be better for you and your condition than another.”
The American Massage Therapy Association estimates that 300,000 to 350,000 massage therapists care for nearly 32.6 million patients each year, about 15 percent of all adults. While 23 percent of those patients said they received a massage for relaxation, 54 percent told surveyors they sought massage for pain management, soreness, stiffness, spasms or overall wellness. “The essence of true massage is mind, body and spirit,” Frank says.
the rub
“If you are receiving a massage that is therapeutic, you will have increased blood flow to areas of the body, increased lymphatic flow and better pliability of tissues so you have better range of motion and your muscles will function better,” explains Frank. The frequency of massage therapy depends upon needs and lifestyle. “If you are active and have a full-time job, usually every two to four weeks is enough to see a benefit from regular massage,” Frank says. “If you are really active or you’re an athlete training for an event, regularly could mean once a week or every other week.”
Massage has been embraced by professional athletes in the past decade or two, he says. “If you are performing at a professional level and are in your season, you probably should be receiving massage a minimum of once a week, possibly twice,” he says. “Those will not necessarily be full sessions of an hour and a half to two hours, but maybe 15 to 30 minutes on a specific area of the body.”
For the elderly, “massage is looking at life extension,” Frank says. “It helps maintain flexibility. It increases circulation and blood flow, particularly in the joints, which is an issue for people with arthritis. Anytime you can increase blood flow, you are increasing oxygen and nutrients to areas of the body that need to recover on a regular basis.”
connective tissue
Frank’s dominant massage modality is myofascial release. “It works with the fascia, the connective tissue that is an endless web in the body,” he says. “When you affect the fascial system, you affect the lymphatic system, the venous system, the nervous system and skeletal structure function.”
When performing myofascial massage, Frank says, “I feel for the adhesions and restrictions and work in a multi-plane fashion to generate a change of temperature in what we call the ground substance of the fascia.”
Since myofascial release is intended to relax and stretch the body, Frank says when his clients are finished, they feel like they have more space in their body. “They feel taller, longer, looser, and livelier,” he notes. “Part of the work I do is called neurosomatic awareness, which is getting the brain and body to come back together and feel the changes.”
[implants & veneers]
Not only do boomers want to function well into their golden (and platinum) years; they’d also like to do it in style. They intend to be as thin, as fit and as attractive as possible, for as long as they can be—70 is the new 50, after all. And modern dentistry is helping out.
no more dentures
Nothing says ‘old’ like false teeth. Seniors these days are keeping more of their own pearly whites and turning to more natural-looking procedures, says Dr. George V. Duello, a periodontist at Masters Institute in Sunset Hills.
Veneers and implants are long-lasting and stronger than the tooth that was repaired or replaced. Veneers cover damaged or stained teeth, while implants replace lost teeth. “Veneers can instantly change somebody’s smile and give them a beautiful appearance,” Duello says.
Today’s seniors are keeping more of their natural teeth than previous generations did. In the ‘50s, most people over the age of 65 were edentate—a polite way of saying they no longer had natural teeth. Now most people that age have most of their natural teeth thanks to fluoridation, advances in dental care and better oral hygiene, reports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).]
surface beauty
A veneer restores a tooth to its natural beauty. “In the initial appointment, photographs and dental models are taken and a wax mockup is done to show the patient the anticipated final result,” Duello says. At a second visit, a thin layer of enamel is removed from the tooth surface and an impression is taken. From this impression a dental lab produces a veneer made of molded porcelain or lithium disilicate, a glass ceramic material.
“On the third visit, the veneers are checked for fit, color and hue and bonded into place,” Duello says. “Studies show that today’s veneers and adhesives can make a tooth stronger than the original tooth or a crown put on the tooth.
lost & found
When a tooth is lost, most patients today turn to implants, a permanent, if expensive, process. “Implants are a wonderful substitute for a natural tooth that may have been lost due to an accident or disease,” Duello says. “It doesn’t affect the adjacent teeth, and can be used to replace multiple teeth.”
Implants use a post made of titanium composite that is placed into the bone of the jaw. After an initial examination and radiographs, the surgeon can plan the implant on the computer, Duello explains. On the second visit, the diseased/damaged tooth will be extracted (if still present) and the titanium implant may be placed into bone. “In some cases we must delay the implant based on the quality and pathology present in the bone,” he says. “In many cases there will be bone grafting, then three to six months of healing.” During the final step, a dental lab creates a replacement tooth from ceramic, porcelain or other material. Then the final crown is bonded to the implant.