Physical activity is a power: move, move!

Weakness is a loss of muscle strength, a condition in which maximum effort does not result in normal muscle contraction. This clinical syndrome is most common in the elderly. Weakness is not a disability, but modern geriatric medicine considers it to be a significant risk factor and even a harbinger of complete disability in the future. But this is not at all fatal: it is important to notice signs of muscle weakness as early as possible and take preventive and, if necessary, therapeutic measures in time.

Experts note a number of factors which can contribute to the development of weakness:

•  excessive alcohol consumption;
•  cognitive impairment;
•  hearing problems;
•  malnutrition;
•  lack of physical activity;
•  smoking;
•  polypharmacy (simultaneous use of multiple drugs);
•  loneliness, social isolation.

It is quite possible to eliminate these causes or significantly reduce their influence and thus avoid frailty or disability at a later age. Disability and frailty are not synonymous, but studies have shown that they are related: frailty increases the risk of disability, and disability increases the likelihood of developing frailty.

When diagnosing a person's weakness, doctors evaluate five indicators: walking speed, unintentional weight loss, grip strength, level of physical activity, and exhaustion. This is a very complex and rather lengthy process. A simpler and faster way to predict the functionality of an elderly person over many years is proposed in an article published in the Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle.

Slowness is the main harbinger of future weakness

One study, conducted by scholars from the Federal University of San Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo (Brazil) and University College London in the UK, involved more than 3,000 people over 60 living in England.

The researchers concluded that slow walking speed is the main predictor of future decline in physical capacity in older people. If, for example, a 63-year-old walks much more slowly than his peers, then by the age of 75 or 80, he is likely to be physically weak and unable to perform even ordinary household activities without help.

“Our study showed that measuring walking speed is sufficient to effectively predict loss of function in the elderly,” said the study leader Tiago da Silva Alexandre, professor at the Department of Gerontology at UFSCar (Brazil). “Based on our findings, we can say that a slowing down of the walking speed is observed several years before this process begins. This is an important result as it facilitates observation of the problem at its source and enables clinicians to assess the risks.” The authors of the study assessed weakness syndrome in five dimensions: walking speed, inadvertent weight loss, grip strength, physical activity level, and exhaustion, and found that slow walking speed is the most obvious warning sign of future frailty.

The importance of the results of this research for maintaining the health and active longevity of people is emphasized by the lead author of the study, Dayane Capra de Oliveira: “This is an early indicator. The discovery allows healthcare professionals to more easily detect the problem. They can start looking into the causes of the slowness earlier.”

“It is more difficult to start treatment when a person is already experiencing difficulties in certain ordinary activities,” says colleague Professor Tiago Alexandre. “There are options, but the results are not as good as they could be with early detection of the problem. That is why it is so important to offer a simpler, safer, and more affordable approach to predicting loss of functional ability.” This will enable specialists to recommend preventive measures, and develop methods to help avoid the onset of weakness and disability.

The American Medical Association's monthly journal, JAMA Network Open, published many observations of the health of the elderly, which show that frailty is not a must in old age. “On the one hand, our research shows that older people are often victims of aging, and this problem covers all countries of the world. On the other hand, it can be combated by using protein foods and exercises that increase muscle strength,” said Richard Ofori-Asenso from Monash University in Melbourne (Australia). The strongest influence on the likelihood of developing such health problems was not age, but insufficient level of physical activity and various chronic diseases.

Insufficient  physical activity is one of the most common causes of muscle weakness. Maximum muscle strength and rapid recovery of the body after exercise is observed at the age of 20-30 years. If the muscles are used little, then they become flabby, do not contract as efficiently, decrease in volume, lose their strength, and get tired faster. With age, this process is aggravated, but it can be stopped by doing physical exercises.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to spend most of their time indoors, and gradually a sedentary lifestyle has become a bad habit that needs to be broken. Regular physical activity for maintaining health is important at any age, but for those over 60 it is absolutely essential. By giving up bad habits, changing your lifestyle to a healthy one, you can avoid weakness for the coming years and decades.

Start with a walk. Walking is a universal tool that is ideal for people over 60 to start exercising: it allows you to easily vary the load so as not to cause harm, increases and maintains the functionality of the body, including physical strength. Take Nordic walking poles in your hands, and you will include up to 90% of your muscles in the exercise. In the future, after consulting with your doctor, you can move on to more intense exercises, which will help you avoid weakness, maintain self-confidence and a sense of joy in life in the coming years and decades.

And everything counts during the pandemic: outdoor exercise, walking along forest and park trails, enjoying the nature, or overcoming weakness. Health and longevity are in your hands!

Listen to the experts

The famous French writer Andre Maurois categorically stated: “Old age is a bad habit that very busy people do not have time to acquire.”

The great man Albert Schweitzer, MD, Nobel Peace Prize winner, humanist who donated all his money to build hospitals and schools for African children, wrote: “For a man who is over 60, I have one recipe: work hard and - more work more! In the name of the people."

An example to follow

There are no words which could describe the greatness of this person. We are not going to talk about his genius, amazing performance, and the legacy that he left to the world.

Not everyone knows that Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a trendsetter in sports fashion for his contemporaries, and an example for us: serious gymnastic exercises, ice skating, a bicycle (he first sat on it at the age of 67), tennis, horse riding, hiking – all this was daily, moderate, in any weather, with pleasure, until the last days of life! This is another story for another article.

Leo Tolstoy was credited with the motto: “It is very important to follow the simple rules of a healthy lifestyle: to be able to rejoice like a child, spend every day with benefit, take pleasure in being active, and become better!”