As a multidisciplinary clinic our practitioners have a number of common threads in the recommendations for our patients. The most common one is physical fitness and we all practice what we preach in different ways.
We have skiers, hikers, bikers, joggers, spinners, deep water runners, weight lifters, exercise video junkies as well Pilates devotees amongst us. We all acknowledge the value of physical activity but from time to time its good to have a little reminder of why it is so important.
There were 2 very interesting studies released in the last few weeks that highlight this important fact.
The first comes from BMJ and it highlights the value of doing TaiChi in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. Thankfully FM isn’t a very common disorder but we do see a number of cases in the clinic and they are often challenging. Typically we have prescribed aerobic exercise for these patients but their compliance was often poor due to discomfort during the exercise as well pain and stiffness after the activity. This study showed that TaiChi was actually much more effective in lowering pain and disability for those patients and it was much better tolerated than aerobic exercise. So if you know anyone that suffers from FM suggest trying a course of TaiChi, it will increase both their fitness and general well being.
The other interesting study was published in Neurology and it showed that improving cardiovascular fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent developing dementia. How much you ask? 90%!! Yes, 90%! So, if you needed yet another reason to get off the couch a 90% decrease in risk of developing dementia should be sufficient.
If you need any tips on how to increase your physical fitness be sure to ask any of the practitioners in the clinic and they’d be delighted to help.
This quote from Dr. Jenni Brand-Miller really sums things up; “Remember there are only two requirements when it comes to exercise. One is that you do it. The other is that you continue to do it!”