Middle Age And Beyond…Is It All Downhill?

It's been said, turned into memes, and seems like acceptable common knowledge that “It's all downhill after 40.” Everything starts to hurt or ache, but studies now point to exercise as yet another solution for things that ail the body.

Dr. Nils Niederstrasser published the findings of his study on the associations between pain and physical activity among older adults in January of this year. The study found the most vigorous levels of activity were linked to participants experiencing a reduced risk of musculoskeletal pain. On the opposite end of the activity, the sedentary was equated to a higher likelihood of chronic pain. In simpler terms, bumping up your workout can minimize age-related pain for adults over 50. Dr. Niederstrasser looked at chronic pain in participants of the study as well as their levels of exercise ranging from mild to moderate to vigorous. It didn’t take long for the big picture to emerge and that is that prevention and relief from pain can be accomplished through regular exercise with some to most of it falling under the vigorous category.

Vigorous exercise is not just a simple solution. There are some other layers to this study that help with chronic pain. To get the maximum impact and results for pain relief and prevention, the exercise has to have consistency and regularity. Dr. Niederstrasser believes that the link between physical activity and lessened pain can be connected to several other benefits to exercise. It is common knowledge that exercise has endless benefits for the mind and body. Some of the variables and benefits Niederstrasser believes are that vigorous physical activity improves health, creates better muscle function, and keeps weight within a healthy margin. In addition, higher bone density and decreased risk of falls are a result of higher levels of exercise.

Even if you are not an overly active person with exercise, benefits from even mild or moderate activity can have an impact on lowered pain risk. The biggest key is not to remain sedentary. In a study on pain, Ruixue Zhaoyang connected lessened physical activity to levels of pain. The study, proportionately linked sedentary lifestyles with ongoing chronic pain for older adults. It is a circle that will perpe