Q: I’m in my late 30s – who am I kidding – I am in my late 40s! And things are changing… Can you please give a few tips to maintain a flexible, healthy body and how can you, as an osteopath, assist me in this process? My husband and I want to live forever.
A: I love your attitude and I feel exactly the same, it’s an area of medicine that I’m very interested in. Health is wealth and a lot of patients are asking me this very same question. I have great news, the research and development in this realm is moving in leaps and bounds. We are more dynamic and long-lived than ever and let me say my yoga class has a strong line of mature students – they are the guiding inspiration for the class.
Gravity is always trying to return us to a puddle, below I advise how an osteopathic approach can assist you through optimal ageing. For my own healthy mind, body and soul, I apply the following key actions – find the sports you love, persist, invest, maintain, train, keep it social; it’s a life-time journey so you want to enjoy it.
I always start an assessment by observing a patient as they walk into the clinic, how they remove shoes, stand to sit, sit to stand, running through guided movements to see whether movement is symmetrical, smooth, restricted and/or pain free.
We are looking at your ‘structure’ and how it relates to your ‘function’. In this process it is like looking at the structure of a coastal tree. We observe what is the strength, direction and persistence of that prevailing wind and how we can promote a strong upright growth. Also when a patient is lying down, it reveals another picture of compensations highlighting what’s longer, shorter, forward, back rotated in or out… it’s subtle and profound all at once and that gives me an overview of you.
Secondly, we take a full medical history which helps us form our diagnosis, there may be other layers to consider such as prescriptive medications, for heart, thyroid, asthma, diabetes, IBS, reflux, seizures. Whilst these are assisting to maintain quality of life and balance they often have side effects, commonly muscle and joint pain, nausea and headaches. It’s vital to differentiate whether you are experiencing discomfort or stiffness caused by the medication or another layer of physical pain altogether. Reviewing X-ray or scans as necessary.
Thirdly, there are often other stresses or strains, ie: What is your occupation and working environment, living arrangements, relationship status, drug use (tobacco, alcohol, recreational); Any recent foreign travel, family health history. Are you happy and how long do you sleep? Then together we create a plan specifically towards your goals.
We have all had a fall, an operation, or injury and painful emotions around these experiences. Our body is an incredible structure that manages to accommodate and heal. But as we age, our ability to replicate new cells and to repair is not at the same as when we were in our youth. In the ageing process we become less elastic, dehydrated and hormones are changing which weakens the integrity between the cells. To get a picture, think about that lemon that sat too long in the fruit bowl, it shrivelled up!
With anti-ageing we are suspending your ageing process whilst increasing flexibility of muscles and joints, improving blood supply by exercise, treatment and hydration.
Sometimes on the path to health we injure ourselves. With mature patients it is all about how healthy the tissues were before the injury, that dictates how your body recovers. Osteopathic treatment is highly recommended for both healthy tissue and speedy recovery, we explore and instruct about how best not to re-aggravate, coupled with warm up stretches specifically for you. We may assess and introduce new breathing patterns; these can be affected by the force of exercise or an injury, ie, being winded. Holding or shortening your breath is an attempt to avoid pain. It’s stifling and is best corrected.
What do I think about getting old? Comedian John Cleese gives us a gem: “When I realised that I only had 19 summers left!” Now that really brings it home! We need to be honest about what could happen, as my 83-year-old mum says, “Getting old is not for the faint-hearted.” Most ailments can be remedied or prevented by a bit of awareness and yes, you would be well-advised to invest in the next stage of your life.
I have a wonderful and highly-qualified group of practitioners that I cross-refer to. We encourage you, tweak your programme and as a team share our findings with you. The rest is up to you, it’s your life, we are on board to create a long, happy and fruitful one. (SARAH-JANE ATTIAS)
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only. If you have a specific health problem you should seek advise from an appropriate registered health care provider. Living Osteopathy is a Primary Health Care Provider registered with ACC and the OCNZ. Living Osteopathy does not accept any liability other than to its clients.
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