5 Stretches for Seniors with Back Pain

Date: December 22, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
5 Stretches for Seniors with Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common types of pain seniors suffer from. It can be caused by arthritis, being overweight, bad posture, other internal problems, and even stress. There are some stretches that seniors with back pain can do without causing too much discomfort.

5 Stretches for Seniors with Back Pain

5 Stretches for Seniors with Back Pain

 

All these exercises should be done while sitting in a sturdy chair. Make sure to start each stretch with your feet firmly on the floor and knees at a ninety-degree angle.

1. Neck and Chest Stretch

This stretch works your scapulae and trapezius muscles in your neck and pectorals and in your erector spinae muscles.

Start with your feet planted on the floor and sitting straight. Put your hands at the base of your skull, fingers intertwined, thumbs running by your ears and down your neck. Ease your head back into your hands, putting your face toward the ceiling.

Inhale deeply, and as you breathe out, ease your left elbow, so it’s pointing towards the ground and right elbow toward the ceiling. Even if you only move an inch or two, that’s fine, just make sure you don’t hurt yourself.

Take two deep breaths and go back to your original position and then do the other side. Do this three times on each side, alternating sides.

2. Seated Gentle Backbend

This stretch works your spinal extensors, anterior neck muscles, and pectorals.

Bring your hands to your lower back, with fingers on your back and thumbs wrapped around your hips. Press your hands firmly into your hips/lower back and inhale.

As your breath out, gently arch your spine, leading with your head. Don’t force it too much, make sure you tilt your chin up with your face to the ceiling.

Hold this position for five full deep breaths and then slowly go back to the starting position. Do this three to five times.

3. Reach Back

This stretch will help with the range of motion in your shoulders and stretching your shoulders and chest.

Sit up straight and feet on the ground. Take a breath and breathe out as you reach behind you and interlace your hands. If you can’t connect your hands, you can grab opposite wrists or elbows.

Breathe in again and feel your spine growing longer as you sit up taller. Roll your shoulders up and backward, moving your shoulder blades down your back.

As you breathe out, gently straighten your arms, if your hands are clasped. If you are holding your elbows or wrists, gently pull in the opposite direction.

After three deep breaths, let go and go back to the beginning position. Do this three times.

4. Seated Cat-Cow

This stretch will work erector spinae, serratus anterior, iliac rib muscle, and external abdominal oblique, and rectus abdominous.

Put your hands on your knees with fingers pointing in toward each other and the heel of your hands on the outside of your legs. Breath in, and as you breathe out, press in your hands and arch your back, using your whole spine. Put your face toward the ceiling and push out your butt.

As you breathe in again, roll your shoulders forward and pull your belly button toward your spine. Drop your chin toward your chest and pushing toward your knees with your hands. When you breathe out, reverse the motion, pulling your chest through your arms and arching your spine again.

Do this slowly three to five times.

5. Gentle Twist

This stretch works your serratus anterior, erector spinae, rhomboids, and neck muscles.

Go towards the edge of the seat, but not too far that the chair tips over. Breath in and press down into your seat, sit up straight, and lift your arms up overhead.

As you breathe out, turn gently to the right, putting your left hand on the outside of your right knee and your right hand where feels comfortable. You want to feel the twist equally throughout your spine.

Stay in the twist as you breathe in, and you’ll feel yourself sit taller. As you breathe out, twist just a little deeper.

Take three to five deep breaths before gently releasing the twist and doing it on the other side.

Read more here.

101-Year-Old Publishes Her First Poetry Collection

Date: December 22, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
101-Year-Old Publishes Her First Poetry Collection

You are never too old to start a new interest, just ask Sarah Yerkes. She was in her nineties when she started taking poetry classes. Now at 101, she published her first poetry collection, Days of Blue and Flame.

101-Year-Old Publishes Her First Poetry Collection

101-Year-Old Publishes Her First Poetry Collection

 

Yerkes has always been a creative person. She’s had careers of being a landscape architect and then as a sculptor. She worked as a sculptor into her early 80s. When sculpting became too physically painful, she turned to poetry.

Even though she claimed she wasn’t a poet, her instructor Bonnie Naradzay disagrees.

“I loved the fact that she is a sculptor. I realized whaqt a lively and intuitive mind she has– or nshould I say, imaginative. She said it was kind of like doing a sculpture.”- Bonnie Naradzay

The publisher, Passager Books, focuses on older writers. They appreciated how Yerkes told her life’s story in imaginative ways.

Yerkes says that she shares feelings that she hasn’t even shared with her family. The act of writing the poems was therapeutic, though.

“I was just writing for me. I didn’t think of it being in the public domain or that anyone would be interested.” -Sarah Yerkes

Read more here.

Hackers Targeting Medical Devices

Date: December 15, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Medical Devices Causing Bacterial Infections

Some of the top medical device companies gave hundreds of ethical hackers permission to break into their devices to see if any bugs could pose problems if found by the wrong people. These devices range from pacemakers to drug infusion pumps. These companies are hoping to get ahead of hackers targeting medical devices.

Hackers Targeting Medical Devices

Hackers Targeting Medical Devices

 

Back in 2011, cybersecurity researcher Jay Radcliffe made waves for showing how he could hack his own implantable insulin pump at Def Con’s sister conference Black Hat. He got intense blowback from the medical device industry. Most of these companies see hackers who are trying to do good by pointing out these flaws with suspicion.

Now, eight years later, vendors have submitted 40 medical devices for hackers to test.

Even the government is backing them up. Since 2011, the FDA has released a series of rules urging device makers to vet their products for vulnerabilities and to have a formal process for dealing with them. They even encouraged companies to bring their products to the ethical hackers at the Def Con conference.

Def Con even brought doctors to pair up with the hackers since they handle medical devices with their patients. They also created a fake hospital environment for the hackers to work in.

“It really helps to create that hospital environment for (cybersecurity researchers to work. It will help them understand how these devices are really used, how they fit into the clinical setting,  how a patient really uses this.” –Chris Tyberg, vice president of Abbott’s product security division (medical device manufacturer)

Read more here.

Older and Like to Ski? Join Silver Streaks!

Date: December 15, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Older and Like to Ski? Join Silver Streaks!

Waterville Valley Resort has the country’s longest-running ski club for those fifty and older called the Silver Streaks. The club allows for older people who like to ski to find other like-minded people and get exercise.

Older and Like to Ski? Join Silver Streaks!

Older and Like to Ski? Join Silver Streaks!

 

Each winter, around 140 enthusiasts fifty through ninety-five come to Waterville Valley for skiing, coffee and doughnuts, and companionship. Members even participate in an amateur racing competition known as “The Beer League.”

It’s a great way to stay active and social through NH’s long and rough winters. Members can also do moonlight snowshoe treks and Nordic ski outings. There are potlucks on Wednesdays, and a Silver Streaks early bird dinner special at the nearby Coyote Grill.

Everyone of all skill levels and endurance is welcome to join. There’s no pressure to do multiple runs if a person isn’t up to it.

Learn more about Silver Streaks here.

7 Chair Yoga Exercises You Can Do at Home

Date: December 9, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
7 Chair Yoga Exercises You Can Do at Home

Yoga is a highly suggested form of exercise for seniors, and they can get a lot of benefits from it. Some older adults can’t participate in yoga for a variety of reasons. Balance, in particular, is a common one. Now there are chair yoga exercises you can do at home.

7 Chair Yoga Exercises You Can Do at Home

7 Chair Yoga Exercises You Can Do at Home

 

It’s essential that you start each pose by making sure your butt is firmly in the seat before attempting these exercises.

1. Seated Mountain (Tadasana)

This is a pose that works with your core, fixes your posture, and focuses on your breath.

Take a deep breath and sit straight, extending your spine as far it can comfortably go. As you breathe out, root down into the chair with the lowest part of your tailbone.

Your legs should be at a 90-degree angle with your knees over your ankles. Make sure to have room between your knees.

Take another deep breath, and as you breathe out, roll your shoulders down your back and pull your belly button in toward your spine. Relax your arms at your sides.

You can engage your legs by lifting your toes and pressing firmly into all four corners of your feet.

2. Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana 1)

Start in Seated Mountain and take a deep breath. As you breathe in, lift your arms out to the sides and raise your hands to meet above your head. Lace your fingers together and keep your pointer fingers and thumbs out, so you are pointing to the ceiling.

As you exhale, move your shoulders away from your ears and let your shoulder blades slide down your back. Keep taking deep breaths as you settle into this position, take at least five deep breaths before you release your hands on the exhale.

3. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)

Start in Seated Mountain and focus on extending your spine and fold yourself over your legs. Start with your hands on your thighs and slide them down your legs as you fold if you need extra support.

Take five or more even breaths in the folded pose. It works your intestines, which helps with digestion, along with expanding your spine and stretching your muscles.

Take a breath as you go back to your original position.

4. Eagle Arms (Garudasana Arms)

Inhale and stretch your arms out to your sides. While exhaling, bring your arms in front of you, swinging your right arm under your left and grabbing your shoulders with the opposite hands. Essentially, you’re hugging yourself.

If you’re more flexible, you can wrap your forearms around each other until your right fingers are in your left palm.

Take a breath and lift your elbows a couple of inches higher. Breath out, and roll your shoulders down, moving them away from your ears.

5. Reverse Arm Hold

Breathe in and stretch both arms out to your sides, palms down. Breath out and roll both shoulders forward until your palms are facing behind you. Bend your elbows and let your hands swing behind your back.

Hold your hands together and pull them away from each other without letting go. Take five slow breaths and then release.

6. Simple Seated Twist (Parivrtta Sukhasana)

Start with taking a deep breath, straighten your spine, and raise your arms up and out to your sides. As you breathe out, gently twist to the right with your torso and lower your arms. Your right hand will be on the top of the chair and help with your twisting. Your left will be at your side.

Look over your right shoulder, after five breaths, release from the twist, and do the other side.

Make sure you don’t twist too much and hurt yourself.

7. Single-Leg Stretch (Janu Sirasana)

Sitting up straight, stretch your right leg out, resting your heel on the floor with your toes pointed towards the ceiling. Put your hands on your outstretched leg.

Breathe in and bend over your right leg, sliding down your leg as you go. Stretch as far as you can comfortably and inhale and exhale five times, going a little deeper each time.

Release the pose and repeat the exercise with your left leg.

Read more here.

Whey Protein Shakes Can Help Seniors Build Muscles

Date: December 2, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Whey Protein Shakes Can Help Seniors Build Muscles

Older adults start to lose muscles quickly, and it’s nearly impossible to get it back. Many older adults struggle with gaining or retaining muscle through physical activities like working out. Now, a solution could be drinking protein shakes so seniors can build muscles.

Whey Protein Shakes Can Help Seniors Build Muscles

Whey Protein Shakes Can Help Seniors Build Muscles

 

The loss of muscle due to age is called Sarcopenia and can make it hard for people to keep up with their daily activities.

Researchers at McMaster University found that drinking a whey-based protein shake helped increase the overall physical strength in men over seventy. If these men exercise while drinking shakes, they got even stronger.

The study split a group of men seventy and older into two groups. One drank a combination of whey protein, creatine, vitamin D, calcium, and fish oil, while the other group had a placebo for six weeks. After six weeks, the researchers added a twelve-week exercise program and had the men participate while drinking the shake or placebo.

Both before and after the exercise regimen started, the men got muscle improvement. Those who drank the shake gained seven hundred grams in body mass.

Of course, physical exercise is the most crucial part of keeping and maintaining muscle mass. Shakes will certainly help, though.

Read more here.

Why Older Adults are Getting Braces More Than Ever

Date: December 2, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Why Older Adults are Getting Braces

Braces aren’t just for teenagers anymore. Many older adults are getting braces nowadays. It makes sense because as we get older, our teeth start to weaken, requiring more work to be done.

Why Older Adults are Getting Braces More Than Ever

Why Older Adults are Getting Braces

 

It’s not just practical work that gets done. There is a good amount of cosmetic work being done. Out of 15,000 people, twenty-five percent say they avoid smiling because of how their teeth look. People have also reported that they feel like how their teeth look has affected how they interview for a job.

Technology has played a massive role in why older adults are getting braces. It’s now easier to install braces and maintain them. Plus, you can skirt around the stigma of having braces by using clear braces.

Obstacles for Adults Getting Braces

 

Gum disease can be the biggest obstacle to getting braces. Adults sixty-five and older have it seventy percent of the time. A dentist has to treat the gum disease before they start the braces process.

Another problem is bone loss. Teeth move through bone and anchor themselves after the braces are put in. Thinner bones mean the teeth don’t hold as well, and the results may not last as long.

Read more here.

Not Getting Hearing Loss Treated Can Lead to More Isolation

Date: November 29, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Not Getting Hearing Loss Treated Can Lead to More Isolation

It’s easy to take the ability to hear for granted, but once a person loses their hearing, their whole world shrinks. If someone doesn’t get it treated, they can eventually cut themselves off from the world because it’s too difficult to communicate.

Not Getting Hearing Loss Treated Can Lead to More Isolation

Not Getting Hearing Loss Treated Can Lead to More Isolation

 

We’ve discussed before about how many older adults don’t get their hearing loss treated and refuse to get hearing aids. To sum it up, the main reasons are money, stigma, and the difficulty of getting them adjusted properly.

Hearing loss affects one in five people and is connected to loneliness. For every decibel drop in perception in people under 70, it increases the odds of becoming incredibly lonely by seven percent.

For a long time, hearing loss was considered harmless in the grand scheme of things. Medicare still treats it like a normal part of aging and not a medical problem. Meaning, they don’t cover hearing aids.

In the last decade or so, researchers have been studying it as a medical problem. It turns out there are consequences that nobody thought about before.

Why Hearing Loss needs to be Treated

 

Hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia by fifty percent, depression by forty percent, and falls by thirty percent over a ten year period, according to a study published in 2018. This is on top of the isolation and loneliness that it causes.

In 2018, John Hopkins scientists did a randomized controlled trial to figure out if hearing treatment could help with cognitive decline. They found that getting treatment could prevent up to nine percent of the more than 47 million dementia cases in the entire world.

The trial is still happening and is expected to finish in 2022. The scientists also plan to see how hearing treatment affects loneliness.

It’s not known why hearing loss contributes to dementia. There are several theories in the works. All that really matters is that getting it treated makes a world of difference for people in so many ways.

Read more here.

Do You Ever Think About How Earwax Affects Your Health?

Date: November 27, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Do You Ever Think About How Earwax Affects Your Health?

Earwax, also known as, cerumen is a buildup of skin cells, oil, and other particles to protect your body from bacteria. While that sounds helpful, for some people, they may feel like they have too much. For a long time, this was just considered an annoyance, not a health problem. Now, that’s changed. Have you thought about how earwax affects your health?

Do You Ever Think About How Earwax Affects Your Health?

Do You Ever Think About How Earwax Affects Your Health?

 

In a younger person, earwax will come out of the ear naturally, but for seniors, earwax starts to build up easily.  Excessive buildup can lead to the entire ear canal being blocked. Buildup is common among seniors because personal grooming and self-care fall by the wayside. Plus, even if they are being attended to, their ears may not be even thought of among their other conditions.

Buildup can cause loss of hearing and even discomfort from the pressure of the buildup. If there is buildup in just one ear, it can cause balance issues and vertigo. Balance problems lead to falls, which can lead to serious injuries.

Earwax buildup can even affect your mood and brain function. If you already have dementia, it can lead to more bad behavior and confusion.

How to Treat Buildup

 

Do not use Q-tips. It can just push everything back in further. Instead, you should run some warm water in your ear while showering and dry it off. Make sure seniors get checked on regularly when seeing a doctor. Those who wear hearing aids should especially be looked in on.

Read more here.

New Partnership Creates First Rural Geriatric Emergency Department

Date: November 20, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
New Partnership Creates First Rural Geriatric Emergency Department

A new partnership between Dartmouth-Hitchock Health (D-HH) and West Health will be creating the first rural geriatric emergency department in Lebanon, NH. The geriatric emergency department (GED) will have protocols, resources, and specialized care areas.

New Partnership Creates First Rural Geriatric Emergency Department

New Partnership Creates First Rural Geriatric Emergency Department

 

The collaboration is the first in the nation to focus on a rural population. West Health has experience with caring for seniors, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s expertise in health and telehealth will create a world-class telehealth experience for seniors.

West Health will give their knowledge and three million dollars to make Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon a center of senior emergency care. When seniors come to ERs, they usually have complicated problems that can’t be solved in the few hours the average ER can give.

Read more here.