Exercise for Seniors
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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2022

Exercise for Seniors

When combined with a healthy diet, quality sleep, an active social life, and preventative medical care, there nothing is more powerful than exercise to keep us feeling younger, stronger, mobile, and independent. But incorporating exercise into our daily lives can be challenging for some. Here are six key concepts to get you started or reinvigorate your exercise routine.

Put exercise on your schedule. As they say, failing to plan is planning to fail. So, consider the best time for exercise, and work it into your day. Many people find it beneficial to make exercise the first thing they do in the morning. Doing so holds many important benefits, including improved sleep, mood, focus, and more.

Start low and slow. Deciding to be more active, and thinking about all of the rewarding aspects of a healthy lifestyle, can be really exciting. Those thoughts can lead people to do too much too soon, which can cause soreness or injury and derail healthy efforts altogether. Instead, start slow. Consider your current activity level and add 15 minutes a day or increase the degree of intensity by a small amount.

Those who are not active at all could begin with 15 minutes of low-impact exercises a day. Low-impact exercises—like swimming, cycling, walking, and chair yoga—allow you to move without putting a lot of added stress on your joints. As you become stronger, you can move on to longer or more intense exercise sessions.

Upgrade with some variety. Once you have a routine of a few weeks, add exercises that improve strength, mobility, balance, and flexibility. Yoga and Tai Chi are two excellent opportunities to combine these concepts into a single workout. You might walk three days each week while doing a yoga video on three other days.

Increase the duration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we should build up the duration of our workouts until we have reached at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week. Aim for at least two sessions, on different days, of strength-building exercise. Remember, some exercise is better than none.

Make it fun and enjoyable. The best workout is the one you will consistently do. There are so many ways to make workouts fun. Invite friends along, join a class, or dance to your favorite music. You can also cultivate an active outdoor hobby, like hiking, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing. (Be sure to follow safety recommendations.)  Outdoor workouts include extra benefits, like reduced anxiety, improved sleep, and strength-building terrain.

If it hurts, adjust or stop. Pain is not gain; it’s an indication that something could be going wrong. If you run into pain, do a less intense modification or stop. Choose an exercise that is more comfortable for you. Ask your doctor if you might be able to see a physical therapist to get you off to a good start.

As long as you continue to try new things and slowly and safely increase the intensity and duration of your workouts, you will be experiencing the major benefits movement has to offer.

Nina Nunes, PTA, is a physical therapy assistant who works at SVMC Outpatient Therapy and in Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's inpatient units. SVMC is part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care. 

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Introducing Dr. Amy Freeth

Amy E. Freeth, MD, resumed endocrinology services at SVMC in March 2020. The practice, known as SVMC Endocrinology, is a part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC). It replaces the Bennington Osteoporosis Center, where Dr. David Gorson had provided similar services to the community until his retirement in 2019.

How do you describe endocrinology to people who don’t know what it is? The endocrine system is made up of glands that make hormones. These hormones are chemical messengers that travel via the bloodstream to communicate with the cells and organs of the body. Hormones are important for growth, development, mood, metabolism, and reproduction. These glands include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, adrenal, testes, and ovaries.

Endocrinology is a practice of medicine that specializes in disorders of these systems. Disorders most commonly are related to underactive or overactive function of these glands and require replacement of the hormone or specific treatments such as medications, ablation, or surgery.

Since hormones function in feedback loops and are part of a larger complex functional system that exists in flow with the human body, replacement hormones or treatment of endocrine disorders can be challenging and involve changes to our lifestyles that support the optimal functioning of the body.

What diagnoses are most common among the patients you treat?  Pituitary tumors, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, diabetes, adrenal insufficiency, Cushing’s disease, primary hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytoma, obesity, and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

What sorts of treatments do you offer? I offer comprehensive consultation and management of endocrine disorders. I also interpret testing and make treatment plans for endocrine disorders. I also provide interpretation of bone density reports and perform fine needle aspiration biopsies in collaboration with Radiology Associates of Bennington. Technology is increasingly becoming more important in the management of diabetes. Technology includes glucose meters, insulin pumps, and continuous glucose monitoring (sensors). I work with certified diabetes educators to create a team approach to diabetes management. As we develop this new department, we are looking for innovative ways to help people regain and optimize their health. I have training in nutrition counseling and health coaching to help people find their path to good health.

Why is it important for patients who need an endocrinologist see them regularly? Your endocrinologist is part of your health team and has experience and a deep understanding of what is happening within your body to help assess, guide, and co-manage your disorder. There is testing that may need to be done to make sure you are living with optimal hormonal balance. Allowing hormones to run too low or too high can have lasting adverse effects on the body leading to other disease or imbalances.

How do you help protect patients who need to come into the office from infections, like COVID-19? At this time, I am seeing patients via telemedicine and phone visits. This week we are starting to see a portion of our patients in the clinic. Patients can register on the phone and wait in their car until the room is ready. Patients will be screened for fever and should wear a mask. Staff will wear proper protective equipment and follow guidelines for handwashing and cleaning of the rooms.

Since many patients who will likely want to come to the endocrinology clinic will be members of high-risk populations (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and the elderly), patients will have a choice of the type of visit they have.

Dr. Freeth sees patients 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday - Thursday in Suite 307 of the Medical Office Building located at 140 Hospital Drive in Bennington. For an appointment, call 802-447-4555. The schedule will expand to additional days as needed.

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