ENDURE: 10/23/15 Aging Well

What does it mean to be age well?

 

Spoiler Summary: If loading the body is what stimulates growth and adaptation - how much is enough?

October is national physical therapy month....a time when PTs from all over the country take a moment to recognize the amazing power of the body to perform and recover as well as be recognized for their effort in preventing and treating injuries and disease.  Although I'm not sure it ranks up there with some of the other national months and days (I heard there is a "National Blueberry Popsicle day" in September - is that real?), I always do find it interesting to hear about some of the stories of amazing performance against all odds or amazing comebacks.  This year, the American Physical Therapy Association decided it would focus its efforts on the concept of being well as we age.  They started using the hashtag #AgeWell in social media and pushed a few stories out about people who have done just that....and show the kind of future payoff that is possible for people who invest in the healthy life now.

This got me thinking a bit about what it really means to age well.  Is it simply attaining a certain number of years or is it more than that? For example, does the average life-expectancy in America (78.6) define "old"?  Does attaining an age greater than that average constitute a success?  Some groups use the terms "young-old" for people 65-74, "old" for people 74-84 and "oldest old" for people 85+.  But is it just a chronological thing?  I'm of the mindset that there's more to it than that.  To me there is a big difference between a person who is vibrant (at any age) and a person who is not.....maybe that's the difference between "old" and "aging well".  Age represents a number, but aging well means being able to enjoy it fully and using the wisdom gained along the way.

With that in mind, I searched a little more deeply into the question....what I found was both disheartening in some cases and amazing in others.  The disheartening part was that despite paying a whole-awful-lot on healthcare, essentially our attempts to stay well in age, US citizens NOT leading the world in longevity....worse yet, they are also not enjoying the best quality of life in those years.....by some rankings we are as low as 7th.  

However, on the heartening side....I found THIS - an amazing story about someone who is "oldest-old" and still doing what he loves with a body that is able to....something we should all strive for as we "kids" (by his standards) grow up.

Unfortunately aging well won't happen automatically, despite some work to create an exercise pill, however it can be done.  Let us know if you have questions.