Physical Activity Helps Manage Chronic Conditions

Wellness  |  September 13, 2023

Physical Activity Helps Seniors with Chronic Pain Manage Their Conditions

Physical Activity Helps Manage Chronic Conditions | One of seniors’ best actions to combat chronic disease is to get moving. Today almost 92% of seniors have at least one chronic condition and 77% have at least two. Chronic conditions are costly and are major contributors to disability and loss of independence.

Heart disease, cancer, and type II diabetes account for the greatest percentages of deaths each year. The good news is that at least three out of four chronic conditions can be managed, mitigated, or even cured in some cases.  The solution is to add physician-prescribed and monitored exercise into the overall management program.

Physical Activity Helps Manage Chronic Conditions 

Diabetics have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease because of their bodies’ inability to process glucose adequately. Physical activity can reduce the risk of type II diabetes even when there is no weight loss.

Unfortunately, being physically active can be difficult for seniors who have developed a chronic condition. Oftentimes, chronic conditions lead to a reduction in activity, which exacerbates the chronic condition or develops new chronic conditions. Thus, leading to a greater loss of function and independence. Reversing this cycle requires trained medical professionals who can assess and prescribe a physical activity routine to help seniors.

Lifestyle and Physical Activity Helps Manage Chronic Conditions 

The physical results for seniors who make a lifestyle change to include exercise are impressive. Studies have shown that a regimen of 30 minutes a day, five days a week of moderate exercise reduces the risk of death for those with cardiovascular disease by 20% or more.

Physical activity improves the lives of seniors with cardiovascular disease. Active seniors can reduce blood pressure, lower heart rates and cholesterol, and reduce their body weight. In short, seniors who exercise, even with cardiovascular disease, simply feel better.

Similar benefits have been found for those with type II diabetes. Exercise can help seniors regulate their blood glucose, lipid, and blood pressure levels. Diabetics benefit from high-intensity exercise. Short intervals of high-intensity exercises for 10 minutes three times a day, for five to seven days a week, provide substantial health benefits, helping diabetics maintain optimal blood glucose and weight levels.

Physical Activity Helps Manage Chronic Conditions: Reduce the Risks

The risk of cancer, particularly, prostate, colon, and breast cancers, can be reduced, or recurrence risks lowered, by adopting a physically active lifestyle. Cancer patients and survivors can also benefit from better overall well-being when they exercise regularly as part of their disease management program.

Perhaps one of the best things family, friends, and caregivers can do to help seniors with chronic conditions is to support, and even join them, in physical activities. If not you then hiring an in-home caregiver can help. Caregivers can accompany seniors on walks, support and assist them as they complete medically prescribed exercise, and transport them to physical therapy appointments to help them stay as healthy and active.

The Best Senior Home Assistance Care in North and West Vancouver is Comfort Keepers®

Our senior home care agency offers in-home care focusing on aging in place. Our services include dementia care, end-of-life care, post-surgery care, and palliative care. Comfort Keepers can assist seniors with living transition services, personal care, companionship care, and more! 

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Do you need a home care solution for yourself or a loved one? Have you been thinking about retirement homes and their alternatives as a solution? Comfort Keepers® enables seniors to maintain happy, healthy lives in the comfort of their own homes. In-home care services are available in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the surrounding areas.

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Our in-home caregivers ensure our senior clients have the best quality of life. The Interactive Caregiving™ program ensures that a senior’s safety, nutrition, mental well-being, and everyday needs are met. This program brings joy and good health to each client’s home.

Comfort Keepers® North Vancouver and West Vancouver Can Help with In-Home Elderly Care Services!

If you are concerned about the health and well-being of a loved one we can help! Comfort Keepers offers 24-hour care and delivers top-quality and compassionate care for seniors.  We are dedicated to safety technology solutions that foster independence and enhance well-being.

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Our care centers around companionship for seniors. Empathetic care originates from the soul and allows us to meet our client’s requirements. The seasoned in-home caregivers employed by Comfort Keepers are carefully chosen based on their empathetic qualities.  

Contact the Comfort Keepers® North Vancouver and West Vancouver office at (604) 998-8806 to learn more about our unique in-home care solutions for seniors.

Comfort Keepers is an Accredited Senior Care Agency in North and West Vancouver, BC

Accreditation is a rigorous process that involves industry experts evaluating an organization’s processes, policies, and procedures. Comfort Keepers® North and West Vancouver has been awarded Exemplary Standing by Accreditation Canada. This achievement recognizes that Comfort Keepers® meets or exceeds the stringent quality standards for Home Care companies established by Accreditation Canada.

References

Booth, F.W., Roberts, C.K., and Laye, M.J. (April 2012). Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Compr Physiol., 2(2):1143-211. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c110025. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241367/.

Durstine, J.L., Gordon, B., Wang, Z. and Luo, X. (2013). Chronic disease and the link to physical activity. Journal of Sport and Health Science 2, pp. 3-11. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2012.07.009. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254612000701.

National Council on Aging. (n.d.). Chronic disease self-management: Fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ncoa.org/press-room/fact-sheets/chronic-disease.html.

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