Why Getting Older is Not a Diagnosis
Just as I sit down to write this article, I recall an old toast a friend of mine used to say: “To us! We will never be this young again”. A factual statement but perhaps a little sobering!
Aging affects us all, and if we are lucky there is no getting away from it. As we grow older, it is normal to experience more frequent aches, pains, and stiffness in our bodies. If you are over the age of 30, I am sure you have experienced an ache at some point and thought to yourself something like, “What am I to expect, I am getting older after all”.
The irrelevance of age
I am writing this article today to highlight the folly of these thoughts. They are a trap! A way of letting yourself off the hook for not addressing the underlying reason you have the pain. Age is not a pain-generating tissue in your body. The fact of the matter is, when you exclude psychosomatic pains, there is always an underlying pain generating tissue, and a reason for it.
Consider this: The 18 year old who gets an ache in their knee will tend to seek treatment and relief as age will not pop into their minds a reason they could be sore. In contrast, a 50 year old with the exact the same problem might not do anything about it, because they may just expect and reluctantly accept that that’s what happens at 50. This mindset can prevent a person from getting achievable relief from their pain.
The relevance of age
Of course, I am not saying that aging plays no role in our musculoskeletal health. I am not suggesting that an octogenarian could retrain their bodies to do backflips down the street. There are age related conditions, such as osteoarthritis which can reduce the overall function of our bodies, making it harder to keep moving. Another example is, as we age, the blood capillary beds that line our muscles retract which means that it takes longer for muscles to heal. Bone density changes, ligaments firm up and muscle mass reduces; these are all things that happen as we get older.
Of course, we must keep them in mind and align our expectations accordingly. But! There are numerous ways to slow these changes and recover fast from the aches we experience. These include resistance training, stretching, cardiovascular exercise, a balanced diet and maintenance care from a qualified chiropractor, physiotherapist or osteopath. A good first step if you are starting to notice new pains is to get a consultation by one of these professionals to identify the underlying cause and begin appropriate treatment.
Conclusion
In practice, I have been in awe of some of my older patients who maintain a great attitude towards their physical health as they age. Their positive mindset plays a significant role in their quality of life. I remember one patient in their 80s who told me about their daily swims in the sea. With a little help managing the symptoms of their arthritic shoulders, they were back out in the waves. They said something I've never forgotten: “I never felt old until I had this shoulder pain.” That insight helped me realise how strong our link between dysfunction and a feeling of getting old is.
There is nothing you can do about getting older, but there is something you can do about the condition of your musculoskeletal system. I am reminded of a line from the famous poem by Dylan Thomas, “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. This powerful call to resist the passive acceptance of aging serves a reminder to actively seek solutions to the suffering we may experience and to maintain our health and well-being.
If you would like to learn more about how chiropractic can play a role in maintaining your physical well-being then click here.
