4 Tips for Maintaining Your Active Lifestyle as You Age

While you and your family are visiting your parents, you get to talking about the “joys” of getting older. It seems like back pain, stiff joints, and little aches and pains have become their new normal. You start to worry that one day you won’t be able to accomplish everything you want to when you’re older and retired. Will you be able to stay active? How can you make sure that you have the lifestyle you want as you age? Growing older doesn’t have to mean you lose your freedom and abilities. Read on to learn how you can keep your active lifestyle for years to come!

Be Active Now

If you want to be active and healthy when you’re older, you need to start healthy habits now. After all, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Make sure you’re getting sufficient cardio and strength exercise to lower your risk of injuries down the line. Although you can certainly slow down a little as you grow older, you should be able to continue enjoying activities you love, like traveling, walking, and more.

Heal Smarter

Everyone gets little injuries along their health journey, but the way you deal with them could impact your health later in life. For some injuries, resting is the best way to help your body heal; however, that’s not always the case. In fact, the right movement can be extremely beneficial in the long term and significantly shorten the healing process. If you’ve suffered an injury, make sure you seek the advice of a trusted, highly trained professional, like your chiropractor, who can teach you rehabilitative movements.

Get Regular Adjustments

While you’re young, your body can sometimes compensate for misalignment or other issues without giving you much pain or stiffness. However, with time, bad habits can cause significant damage to your body. For example, it may only be after years of slouching and staring at a computer screen that you feel back pain. That’s why it’s important to address these problems with a chiropractor now! Adjustments on a regular basis can help your body reset and reverse damage early on. That way, you can lessen or even prevent future pain.

Modify Your Workouts

Getting older doesn’t mean that you stop being active, but it probably entails making some changes. For example, perhaps you need to start using the elliptical machine instead of running or walking the treadmill at the gym to alleviate stress on your knees. Your chiropractor may be able to teach you exercises you can do to still get the cardio and strength training you want and need with minimal risk of injury on your aging body.

You don’t have to dread getting older. Through these simple tips, you can look forward to your golden years by taking proper care of your body now.

About the Author

Dr. Chad Wills has been a chiropractor in the Naples area for more than 20 years. He is one of only two chiropractors in Collier and Lee County to be certified in Chiropractic Biophysics and continues to take coursework to perfect his clinical prowess. If you would like to schedule an appointment or have questions about exercise training, you can contact Dr. Wills at Wills Chiropractic by clicking here.