Look After Your Legs

[NoisySnail]

I was in a cafe today and over heard an elderly woman talking to younger friends about getting older. She said the best advice she could give is to look after your legs as they are so important for mobility. But annoyingly she did not explain what she meant by this, and I could hardly ask!

So does anyone know how we can look after our legs?

This makes me feel better about having bought a four story house when I was 38 and still thought that old age only happened to other people! I have known people who still walk in their late 90s and beyond, but only one (96) who actually goes for walks. The rest are afraid to go outside in case they lose their balance and fall, which is a shame.

“Bungalow legs” is common in older people. They move to a bungalow so they no longer use the stairs and their legs get weak. That loss of strength makes them more likely to have a fall or struggle to get up out of a chair, and it’s the main reason people end up in a home. You need to climb stairs, stand up and sit down, keep your legs strong and you’ll be independent for longer.

There are plenty of options, take work calls standing up, use a standing desk, go downstairs for a drink every now and then. I bought a walking pad and now use this in front of the tv instead of sitting. Exercise snacking is great for you
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/54mscpFxdQWZMk6jZbq3cWb/don-t-worry-about-going-to-the-gym-shorter-bursts-of-exercise-could-be-better-for-you

It is repetative movement (e.g typing) or prolonged standing without movement that is bad for you not movement per se
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/standing/standing_basic.html

I have had a painful left hip for about five years. I finally paid to see a consultant and he said I have hip abductor malfunction. Now that I know what is wrong, I can do the correct exercises and the pain in my hip has reduced but my legs are weak and painful (shin splints I think).

Doesn't that mean by walking?

Maintaining good core muscle strength (abdominal) is also essential, particularly if you have back problems. I have RA and have been told my many physios that the core supports your back, so I do stretches, Pilates and yoga. your core muscles are what help
you get from lying down to sitting.

I just want to say this is a really useful thread, thank you OP!

My friend was always told 'use it or lose it'. The physio had said to her no matter how she felt with her knees and joints to keep going for walks and moving about, especially when she felt she couldn't, he said that was the time to go for a short walk

edited to add: I'd guess putting your feel up and resting your poor legs at certain times helps too, I used to do this a lot more when I was younger and I really feel I'm doing a disservice to myself that I'm not

Agree re core, I had a few ops on my stomach with what felt like very long recovery. It’s fucked my core, which has messed with the rest of my body and alignment. Once you get out of balance and start overcompensating in one area, it causes horrendous problems that can follow you for life (speaking from grim experience). Do core exercises even if just watching telly etc. and don’t move to a bungalow unless you actually need to. Don’t preempt losing mobility, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and you rapidly lose leg and core strength.

I love bodypump @MrKDilkington

I walked masses as a child and teenager living rurally and not having a car or public transport.
I was fitter, more flexible and active than my friends all the way until menopause and then literally everything seized up and all my joints started hurting even when resting. It is weird.

Its very demoralising actually. It feels like I've aged 20 years in a year.

Thank you OP for starting this thread, agree it's been very interesting

Also like the idea of being 60 (ish) with 20 years of weight bearing behind me, rather than as I am a
Feeling like a big lump who has let it go, thinking about how much I have to gain in next few years

I too have watched my fairly fit dad become immobile so so quickly after just one infection so am conscious that fitness is so important

And finally to @WearyAuldWumman I just wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened and that you weren't properly supported and sending very un MNetty hugs to you

Don't live in a bungalow - it will give you bungalow legs.

I know children who can barely get themselves up and down off the ground. It's really concerning because it's going to be tough for them to turn it around and learn to do things they barely did, or they're ploughing into mobility problems at a very premature age 😔

I had difficult pregnancies veering from exhaustion in the early days to SPD that had me near housebound and using mobility aids. After the first birth I was left 2st heavier than usual, but had lost an inch off my lower legs due to muscle wastage. I got fit from a base of walking 100m to the end of the road and back with a pair of hiking poles. I've gone on to become a gloriously average runner (and dare I say better than average for a VW40-44) and do weights based classes. My knees give me far less aggro than they did in my teens/ 20s. Many pain issues can stem from tightness or weakness elsewhere in the chain causing over-compensation elsewhere.

Everyone will have different starting points, but gently pushing your comfort zone from where you are is a good guide. For some, that's through active exercise, for some moving more, for some more of a physio approach to functional movement.

Older generations of women in my family have had decades ruined by arthritis, and I suspect that they've been hindered by poor advice about resting too much and notions of "lady-like" diets and acceptable exercise affecting their bone density. I can't dodge genes, but I can keep using my balance skills, max out my potential bone density and maintain longer through weight bearing excercise and varied diet to reduce lifestyle influences and delay the inevitable.

There's a lady I know in her 70s who signed up to the local gym and has since be able to ditch her walking stick because of the gained muscle, improved fitness and reduction of some body fat.

I can't do the stand sit test and not sure when I would have been able to. It is partly technique as well.
I too have read of young children struggling to get themselves off the floor and that is hugely concerning. It should be easy at that age.

My Apple Watch annoyingly reminds me every hour to stand. It's good though. It does this even if I've been standing up minutes before though!

Is there a specific technique to getting up from a cross legged position without using hands? I'm able to do it (only 39 so I should be) but wondered if I'm making it too easy.

Plenty of good advice here… including watch your weight - your feet, ankles, legs and hips bear the brunt of weight carrying. You also want to avoid t2 diabetes if you can do that you have feet and lower limbs when you are elderly. Keep your muscles strong in case your bone density goes to shit. You want something holding you upright. Your muscle movement is required to get your blood circulating back towards your heart to be reoxygenated. It’s true that if you don’t use it you lose it. This is why it pools and clots if you are sedentary. Look after your legs.

@BogRollBOGOF Of course good muscle tone can help compensate for arthritis. But when it gets bad it is going to affect you anyway. I think the issue is more the pain that makes people not want to be active because it hurts too much.

Its very demoralising actually. It feels like I've aged 20 years in a year.
Go to your gp and go to a specialist, I've had issues with knees ( I know not joint or muscle but just an eg) that I just took as getting older (I'm 43 and one gp said this to me), but then another gp (an older one lol) laughed and said no way is that ok and I went to specialist, got an injection nd was put on (prescription) glucosamine and I can't believe I'm nearly back to how I was. Whatever is it could be fixable x Marchintospring

For me that comment would mean;

Keep a healthy weight, the pressure hips, knees, ankles and feet are constantly under you don't want to carry any excess.

Good fitting shoes can help prevent damage and maintain good posture.

Exercise of many different forms, even gentle ones are beneficial.

The not sitting for more than an hour is a hugely privileged position. Loads of people working are stuck at their desks working until the next break. Yes you can stand up and sit down, but that is all. And the advice really is to have 10 minutes movement every hour.

It was commonly thought that running was bad for knees, and you're right that "excessive running" can have a negative effect, but emerging evidence says it's fine for recreational runners thankfully 🙂We just have to wear decent running shoes, build up slowly, have rest days, and do strength and stretching exercises, etc.

"Can/should I continue or take up running? You decide.

• Recreational runners had less chance of developing knee arthritis compared to sedentary individuals and competitive runners.
• Running at a recreational level for many years (up to 15 years and possibly more) can be safely recommended as a general health exercise, and benefits knee joint health.
• The rate of OA increases if you are sedentary or if you are a high-volume high intensity runner (more than 57 miles per week), compared with regular recreational running.
• The beneficial effects of running on general health are well established and include improved cardiovascular health, diabetic control, mental health, bone mineral density, reduced weight, potential increases in pain threshold, and balance.

In summary, the benefits of running are numerous, and the evidence suggests that you can be confident that recreational running will not harm, and may even improve, your knee joint health." https://complete-physio.co.uk/is-running-bad-for-my-knees/

My elderly DM has had lots of problems with ulcers, which once they start are hard to fully heal, so maybe she meant that.
My DMIL is GP and when we discussed it she said they are can be avoided by Keeping the skin well nourished and supple with a good diet and skincare, keeping to healthy weight, maintaining good muscle tone and taking brisk exercise that gets the blood pumping.

I had terrible varicose veins in pregnancy and paid to have them removed a few years after birth. The pain was immense, like walking with knives running up each leg. Walking became so hard I put on a couple of stone, which of course doesn't help (was only 12st but still every bit makes it harder to do anything). Some people do just have bad vein walls apparently, so knowing about this (checking for any popping veins on the legs) and getting advice if they are sore already is my advice. I have had it done again since as they do grow back, although not as badly, and would honestly say it has changed my life. I have a dog and do miles and miles a day now which would never have happened when I was in pain.