Exercise & Fitness Archive

You’ve probably heard more about self-care lately than usual. Because our current situation is so abnormal and stressful, looking after yourself is even more important, and no one is more aware of this than doctors and other medical personnel.

Exercise and movement may be the best medicine for back pain.

 
You might be considering surgery or other intervention to treat your back pain. But less may actually be more for this common problem, and in many instances the best medicine is good old-fashioned movement and exercise.

The enigma of back pain

Back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. It's also a little strange as far as ailments go.

Not a fan of running? Good news: You don’t need to run fast, far, or that often to reap benefits. And you can ease into running by doing a run/walk program, where you alternate periods of running and walking and gradually increase the time spent running.

The growing field of health and wellness coaching uses motivational techniques and positive psychology to offer people individualized support as they work to achieve their health goals.

People who are prescribed medication for high cholesterol or high blood pressure may be more likely to gain weight and less likely to exercise, but for those who are on such medications, it’s even more important to commit to making healthier lifestyle choices.

News briefs

You've heard (in these pages, and others) that a healthy lifestyle can stave off chronic disease. But just how many extra disease-free years might you get from that healthy lifestyle? A lot, suggests an observational Harvard-led study published online Jan. 8, 2020, by The BMJ. Researchers evaluated more than 30 years' worth of health data from 111,000 people who were free of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease at age 50. Compared with those who didn't follow any healthy lifestyle habits, those who followed four or five healthy habits had an additional decade of disease-free living. The elements of a healthy lifestyle will come as no surprise: don't smoke, limit alcohol intake, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise at least 30 minutes per day. The surprise is just how many additional disease-free years a healthy lifestyle can give you.

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Here's how to maintain your current active lifestyle.

Older adults want to enjoy their independent living as long as possible. Yet this can become a challenge as people face more health issues.

"Most life changes that cause older adults to lose some or all of their independence occur either gradually or suddenly," says Dr. Jennifer Rhodes-Kropf, a primary care geriatrician at Harvard-affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife's Center Communities of Brookline, Mass. "You need to stay on top of critical areas that can jeopardize your health and lifestyle."

The sit-and-rise test helps assess your physical function.

Try this without touching your hands or knees to the floor: from a standing position, sit on the floor with your legs crossed or straight out. Now stand up again. (This is not an easy movement for many people, so for safety do it with someone next to you.)

How did you do? Did you struggle? Did you need to put your hand or a knee on the ground? Could you not get up?

The right kind of inflammation is essential to your body's healing system. But chronic inflammation can be a problem.

The saying "too much of a good thing" applies to much of life, but especially to inflammation.

"People think inflammation needs to be stomped out at all times, but it plays an essential role in healing and injury repair to keep your body safe and healthy," says Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, medical editor of Understanding Inflammation from Harvard Health Publishing and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Some inflammation is good. Too much is often bad. The goal is to recognize when inflammation is simply doing its job, and when it can potentially cause problems."