According to Ian O'Dwyer, Movement Practitioner with Niagara Therapy, Australia's leading manufacturer of medical and health products for athletes, soldiers, the injured and the aged, more young people are developing problems associated with old age due to a lack of movement and living a sedentary lifestyle.
"Basically, young adults are developing 'aging people' health issues because they are not moving enough and giving their body what it needs for optimal health," Ian said today.
"Younger and middle-aged adults in their 40s and 50s are coming into my practice with aches, pains, movement and degenerative issues that we would normally see in 70 year olds.
"This is a concerning trend and it is telling us that 40 is the new 70 when it comes to health and wellbeing, particularly for adults who are not getting enough exercise.
"Repetitive movement, like excessive sitting, can place pressure on the disks in your lower back. Sitting for long periods of time without hydration and movement combined, can be just as bad for you as being overweight."
The World Health Organisation released a report in February 2017 stating globally one in four adults are not moving enough and that insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide. Insufficient physical activity is a key risk factor for no communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes.
"When older people present with aches and pain, I usually assist by guiding them into programs that include movements that mimic life and incorporate technology such as Niagara Therapy's cycloid vibration products," Ian added.
“Cycloid vibration therapy helps enhance many systems of the body necessary to move and feel well. Cycloid vibration helps all of the following: muscle (stimulate and reduce pain to work more consistently), fascial hydration (to improve joint mobility), lymph (excretes the waste products and toxins and reduce swelling) and circulation (encourages the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues).
"This program is ideal for older people who can use the mobile hand held cycloid vibration and then incorporate simple but effective movement patterns to help their body and brain reconnect, all in the comfort of their own home.
"For younger people, I also recommend movement and cycloid vibration therapy. I place a great deal of emphasise on the need to exercise as often as possible, in a manner that brings happiness to them. The key is to find something that YOU enjoy! Running, yoga, weights, surfing, tennis, whatever makes you happy and feeds the body and brain challenge. We all need to move more as we age.
"Over the years, we have seen jobs move from being manual labour based roles to desk driven roles where people sit in front of their computers for up to 8 hours per day. When they get home, they often sit in front of the television or computer as well. Many people are literally living their lives lying down or sitting with a little movement in between.
"While statistics indicate our life span is increasing, I think we are going to see this reduce again or our quality of life diminish from an earlier age unless we start to see big changes in behaviour.
"There are three things we need to do to avoid getting 'aging people' issues earlier in life:
- move as often as possible in a manner that you enjoy, if you enjoy it you will continue it
- when sitting, set an alarm every hour to stand up and move around. A minute is incredibly powerful to create change in the body and brain
- follow the 'Environmental Effects' – 1/ eat well 2/ drink more water 3/ move often 4/ get quality sleep 5/ breath and laugh to help your emotional state
