15
April
2022
|
16:21 PM
America/New_York

Your 50 Top Health Questions Answered

AARP.org discusses the top medical concerns for aging adults and includes health and wellness guidance from Jordan D. Metzl, MD, sports medicine physician at HSS.

To preserve mobility, Dr. Metzl recommended activities such as tennis or pickleball. He continued, “Mobility is all about the lower body, and your entire lower body is interconnected,” Unlike, say, running or biking, tennis moves you in every direction, challenging your hips, glutes and legs from a variety of angles. Basketball is another option. Plus, first thing in the morning, do some multidirectional lunges (forward, side to side, and backward).

When it comes setting fitness goals, Dr. Metzl advised, “Just start exercising, and don’t stop. Build a foundation, and keep building with the next 30 years in mind. Then you can set more specific goals.” 

Dr. Metzl noted that weight loss comes primarily from eating healthier food and fewer junk calories, but exercise can dramatically lower the risk of age-related health issues, from bone loss to heart disease to back pain.

After exercise, soreness should go away in a day or two. According to Dr. Metzl, osteoarthritis is joint pain, swelling and limitations on motion. “Because we’re talking pain, people often think, I have arthritis — I need to baby it. The opposite is true.” He advised building up muscles around your joints to improve any arthritis symptoms and prevent more of them in the future.

Read the full article at Aarp.org.