Age and Health
Age and its impact on our individual health is so interesting . . . and confusing.
The other day I had a new patient in my San Diego chiropractic clinic who was complaining of neck pain and middle back pain. He was in his forties, markedly over weight and looked like he was in his sixties. His history was void of any serious or chronic injuries / pain that would explain his lack of conditioning and he spent the majority of his working career in an office. It was at that point that I found myself falling into the default thinking that most of us always do of advancing age equaling loss of conditioning and subsequently your health.
While it can’t be denied that age leads to arthritic changes in the joints, breakdown of the collagen that keeps our skin tight and hormonal changes that affect men and women in various ways, it seems that many of the health issues that the patient that I described in the previous paragraph are simply due to improper care and maintenance – being a poor observer of his own body regarding how his diet and lifestyle have been impacting his health.
As we age we learn more and more about the important things in our lives that lead to us getting better at them. Our lines of work would be a good example of this. Why don’t we do the same with our health and the maintenance of our bodies? Doesn’t it seem logical that we would apply the lessons that we learn early on regarding health to ourselves and actually experience improved health and conditioning as we age?
If we look at the care of our bodies as we do our jobs or hobbies for instance we should get much better at taking care of ourselves as we advance in years. We should recognize that sodium filled foods make us feel fat and bloated and thus eliminate them from our diets. We should note that after exercise we feel accomplished and invigorated inspiring us to be more active.
It all seems so simple yet most of us don’t do it. In my younger years I don’t ever recall my friends and I anticipating the day that we would become overweight, de-conditioned, un-motivated and of ill health. However, now that I have pushed into my late forties, many of my friends and acquaintances that are in my age group are there – and most of them chalk it up to their age, not their lifestyles or their disregard for basic principles of health maintenance.
The answers to long lasting health are so obvious yet we ignore them and pay the price as we age.
Just a little food for thought.
Dr. Steve Jones
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(619) 280-0554
