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Throughout the year of 2011, two conmen preyed on the elderly in the United Kingdom. Now both are going to jail. Darren Sharpe has been sentenced to five years and Christopher Andrew Simpson to 18 months after both plead guilty to fraud.

Their scam was a hodgepodge of unethical practices. They sold mobility aids such as power scooters and stair lifts at ridiculous prices using high pressure sales techniques. Sometimes they would not even deliver the devices they sold. Other times they made unauthorized transactions from their victim’s credit cards.

 But the largest part of their scam was selling overpriced mattress covers, claiming they had magical abilities such as curing bad backs and stiff joints. Victims would pay

Rolling walkers, or rollators, are walkers with a wheel at the bottom of each leg. Though they’re relatively easy to use, there are some things you should do to ensure you have the best and safest experience. Here are our tips for safe rollator use, though we encourage you to seek guidance from a medical health practitioner for your specific situation.

1. Many rollators include a seat for resting. When sitting down or standing up, make sure your rollator’s brakes are engaged so it and you don’t slip.

2. When standing, use your legs to lift yourself instead of your arms. Use your arms for keeping balance.

3. Place the rollator slightly ahead of you before you start taking

If you’re an elderly wheelchair, walker or cane user, you may not have put much thought into taking up martial arts. But perhaps you should. Tai Chi, as we’ve previously mentioned, is a slow meditative martial art that’s great for helping the elderly and those with limited mobility stay active. It was invented by Chinese martial artist Zhang Sanfeng who, according to legend, was inspired by a dream he had about a snake and crane engaged in fluid combat. Tai Chi has been practiced in China since the 16^th century. It first hit the United States in the early 70s and has been growing in popularity ever since. These days, most major American cities have Tai Chi groups and instructors.

The health benefits of Tai Chi are both numerous and impressive. A study of 256 seventy to ninety-two-year-olds concluded that “tai chi decreased the number of falls and the fear of

If you’ve recently gotten injured and will have to start using crutches at school, you probably have some concerns. But don’t worry. Life on crutches will take a bit of getting used to, sure, but most schools are ready to handle these situations and students tend to be supportive.

To make the adjustment as smooth as possible, here are our top tips for using crutches at school.

1. Talk to Your School Nurse

A lot of schools offer some type of “early release pass” for students on crutches. This means you get to leave class five minutes early (woo hoo!) so you can navigate the halls to your next class before they get super crowded.

If your school

Recently, the World Health Organization released a warning that “a sedentary lifestyle could very well be among the 10 leading causes of death and disability in the world.” They claim that 2 million deaths every year are attributed to physical inactivity, making it one of the biggest public health issues of our time.

This issue is especially relevant for the elderly. But no one goes into “old age” planning to be inactive. So what causes it?

1. Avoiding Discomfort

As you age, you may experience more muscle and joint aches. This leads to a viscous cycle. Because it hurts more to exercise, people exercise less, making it hurt that much more when they do exercise. The only way to break the cycle is to bite the bullet and exercise. The good news is, once they start most people report a decrease in joint pain within weeks.

2. Convenience

Everything from cars to the internet has made our