Cantissimo Senior Living Blog

Do you often wake up feeling stiff or aching? Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning because of your sore and stiff muscles? This is very common and often referred to as morning stiffness. Even though it is common, many people don't understand the causes of morning stiffness or how to avoid it. Many people think it solely has to do with getting older and the aging of the body. While this can certainly be a reason and a normal occurrence, aging is, more often than not, unlikely to be the reason for morning stiffness.

The most common cause of morning stiffness is tight muscles or worn and tired joints. Muscle tightness can often be mistaken for joint pain. These symptoms can also be an indication of arthritis or inflammation, but that is not always the case.

The fact is that joints do not always age at the same rate as the rest of the body. They can age faster due to wear and tear, or they can age more slowly if they are taken care of properly. Typically, overweight people are more subject to having worn joints and feeling stiff in the morning. Cartilage works as the cushioning of your joints. As your joints age, cartilage dries out and stiffens. As cartilage dries out, your joints also lose necessary lubrication, which also contributes to morning stiffness. This leads to tightness in the morning, stiff tendons, and weakened muscles. It is very difficult to reverse the symptoms of aging joints. Still, there are different things that you can do to reduce morning stiffness and the aging of your joints.

Tightening your abdominal muscles to strengthen your core does not relieve chronic back pain. It is possible that this approach will even make things worse!

When you take the approach of strengthening or tightening the abdominal muscles in order to counterbalance tight back muscles, you are working against your body. It results in a co-contraction of both the front and back body muscles. This then creates a braced-liked situation that creates more layers of problems than solutions.

In our last blog, Talking to Your Aging Parents About Money – Part 1, we explored ways adult children could start the conversation about money with their parents. Once the ice is broken, an opportunity to deepen the conversation presents itself.

UNDER THE SURFACE

The "money" subject is the first of several layers of important issues aging adults need to address. The following are major ones adult children need to discuss with their parents.

Most adults with aging parents rarely look forward to raising the subject of their elders' money. It's a scary topic because it involves a role reversal. Parents are supposed to teach their young children about money, not the other way around. Years later, adult children and their parents sometimes find it challenging to break out of this family dynamic. Yet, there comes a time when children need to talk to aging parents about plans for their money and other end-of-life planning topics.

PLAN OR WAIT FOR A CRISIS

Ideally, the time to talk to parents should happen before any crisis. Injury or illness can happen fast. If plans are not in place, decisions may be made quickly without sufficient information. This risk of causing irreversible mistakes is high. Even if plans have been made, failure to share them with adult children may put an effective plan at risk. Talking when parents can physically and mentally hold their own in the conversation provides a better foundation for good planning. In other words, the sooner, the better.

What is Telehealth

Telehealth, the delivery of healthcare services virtually, is an increasingly popular practice that many people are looking at to replace typical in-person delivery. Telehealth can include video conference medical appointments, health apps, and remote patient monitoring. Throughout the last year, people have been forced to schedule telehealth medical appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As many have experienced, this can be a viable option for many, especially seniors, looking forward.

Telemedicine

People often confuse telehealth and telemedicine, but they are two different things. While telehealth is a virtual communication mode between doctors and patients, telemedicine uses technology to deliver care to patients virtually. Therefore, telemedicine is less broad than telehealth because it only refers to remote clinical services.

Nearly half of Americans 65 or older will eventually require some form of long-term care, according to a 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Of those needing long-term care, roughly half need it for less than a year. However, women are more likely to stay longer one year or longer.

The trends and fads of the wellness and fitness industry keep changing. However, one thing that will always remain a staple will be the importance of low-impact exercises. Low-impact exercises make it possible to stay active, improve mobility, and build strength without putting unnecessary stress on the joints. Thus, low-impact exercises among the most highly recommended physical activity options for aging adults.

If you are looking for ways to stay safe and healthy, here are ten of the best low-impact exercises for you:

Inflammation is part of the body's defensive mechanism. When a cut swells up and turns red, that's inflammation healing you at work. However, it can contribute to various health issues, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis (including psoriatic arthritis), cancer, and even depression when it goes into overdrive. It is worth noting that these health issues are also sparked by many factors such as poor diet, smoking, lack of sleep, etc.

When the immune system is activated without an illness or injury to combat, an inflammatory response may happen. The cells of the immune system that usually defend us begin to damage healthy arteries and joints because there is little to repair. When you do not eat a proper diet, do not get enough exercise, or have too much tension, the body reacts by increasing inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation may have detrimental effects. 

Now, let's take it a step further and look at tips to reduce unnecessary inflammation.

Over the years of extended use, nearly 80% of seniors develop foot problems. Common foot problems in seniors include arthritis, ingrown toenails, flat foot, diabetic foot ulcers, gout, bunions, hammertoes, stress fractures, fungal infections, and more. Some of these problems arise from everyday activity and health problems such as arthritis and diabetes. Still, the issue for many is inappropriate footwear.

What to Look For

As foot problems develop with age, people often do not realize that improper shoes can cause or worsen these problems. Aging causes poor foot circulation, loss of fat and cushion in the feet, and foot skin and nails to dry out. This means seniors should not wear the same shoes worn for most of their lives when their feet were healthy.

As we age past 50, necessary changes in our diet become more apparent. In our retirement years, we cannot eat the same as when we were in our 20s, 30s, or perhaps even as we did just a few years ago. It may feel like your body is just betraying you. Or that maybe you don't understand how to take care of it anymore. As the body ages, so does your metabolism. In this article, we will discuss easy ways to help boost your metabolism!