How to Find Your Inner Athlete as You Age

I am passionate in living an active lifestyle and love helping people do the same, especially as they get older. As a Physical Therapist, I find no matter what the age we all have a common goal, to stay active.

walking on a sunny day 02We all have our inner athlete.

An athlete is essentially someone who can move and control their body through space efficiently. That’s where I correlate similarities between athletes and people that aren’t as active and are older, because their goal is typically to move through space better. If they have pain while moving it’s their tolerance that restricts them.

The most common issues I have seen as people get older are things having to do with the spine like back and neck pain. That’s largely due to bad posture. As we allow posture to go some of the muscles that should be supporting us in a certain position start to shut off because they are over stretched. That requires more wear and tear on the areas of the body that aren’t supposed to work hard.

Another part of it is activity. The human body is made to move and by not being active it’s going to make it harder to move in the future. It becomes a vicious cycle and that’s where injuries come into play a lot. People then will not move, because they are fearful of the injuries.

Ways to avoid or improve back and neck pain:

  • Maintaining good posture. That even means when you are relaxing at home. When you are sitting on the couch or reading a book it’s important to find a position that is not going to bother your back.
  • Walk! One of the best physical activities for neck and back pain is to walk.
  • Physical therapy. We help make you feel your best through great strength and stabilization exercises in addition to hands-on therapy to decrease pain and improve mobility.

Follow these simple steps and you too can find your inner athlete as you age.

Mike B

By Mike Bertrand, DPT

Back in Motion Physical Therapy – Gorham Clinic

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