Those who are buying a walker for the 1st time are often forced to choose between style, features, or durability. This can make purchasing a walker stressful and frustrating. If you or a loved one is at the time of life when a walker has become a necessity, be sure that the walker you choose meets these 5 criteria.
This month, three separate studies all published in Nature Medicine and Science have shown that putting young blood into older mice helps reverse both the mental and physical symptoms of aging. Specifically, memory, endurance, muscle strength, and sense of smell improve. These findings could open new ways to treat conditions ranging from impaired mobility to Alzheimer’s disease.
Scammers often target seniors because 1.) Many seniors have accumulated a considerable amount of money, and 2.) Seniors are often less up-to-date on current financial scams. So in an effort to educate, here are 5 of the most common financial scams seniors should watch out for.
“I’m getting older but I’m not getting old,” says Hildegard Gigl (pronounced “giggle”), a 99 year old fitness instructor. All the members of her fitness group are 75 or older. Some, including Gigl herself, use walkers and other mobility devices, but that doesn’t stop them from doing wall pushups, weightlifting soup cans, and other exercises to the tune of big band hits.
Scientists have long studied aging in short-lived lab animals such as yeast, worms, flies, and mice. But this presents several problems. For example, many lab animals are inbred and therefore don’t represent the same genetic variability we humans have. The lab animals also live in very different environments than ours, and don’t live long enough for scientists to closely study their entire lifetimes.
Trouble walking during pregnancy is nothing new. It’s a symptom of pelvic girdle pain or PGP, a pregnancy discomfort that physicians have been treating since the time of Hippocrates. During pregnancy, the growing baby causes a woman’s center of gravity and posture to change. This, along with pregnancy hormones, can cause the pelvic joints to become unstable leading to a variety of mobility issues ranging from minor discomfort to significant pain and sometimes the inability to walk.
A team of students in Utah known as the Rec N Crew will be going to this year’s National Wheelchair Basketball Association Championship for the first time ever. The team is made up of both guys and girls ages 11 to 18. Though the kids come from a variety of schools, the team is sanctioned like a regular high school team, meaning the players have to keep up with their grades in order to compete.
According to entrepreneur Dr. J. Craig Venter, “Your age is your number one risk factor for almost every disease.” This means that the most efficient way to fight disease isn’t by treating them individually, but slowing down the aging process itself. And that is exactly what Dr. Venter hopes to do through his new company Human Longevity.
If you’re fortunate enough to have your mobility but don’t feel like walking, then check out the Solowheel-- a new one-wheeled mobility device. Think of it as a unicycle you don’t have to pedal, or a Segway minus a wheel and the handle.
A study recently published in the Baltimore Sun, suggests that creative expression helps seniors age gracefully. The study took place over 5 years and was conducted by psychiatrist Dr. Gene Cohen, director of George Washington University’s Center on Aging, Health and the Humanities.
Just a generation ago, most seniors assumed that as they grew older they would go to an assisted living facility or nursing home. But with the boomers, that’s beginning to change. Seniors today are embracing a variety of new and fun innovations - everything from dating sites to Zumba classes and the increasingly popular senior villages.
