A university in Finland recently came to the conclusion that exercise can act as a beneficial force in patients experiencing chronic illness. The study looked at aerobic exercise, strength training, and condition specific therapies. The results? Over 85 percent of those looked at showed positive results from exercise.
We all know that exercise is a good thing. But it is really easy to put exercise off, and it’s really easy to think that now that a disease is present, or we are elderly, or any other host of reasons, exercise is not going to be helpful anymore. But this study from the University of Jyvaskyla says the exact opposite. Even if a chronic disease is present, exercise has a strong chance of providing a benefit when it comes to quality of life.
The study out of Finland was a meta-analysis, meaning that they looked through many published studies, compiling the results and applying them to their own. They looked at the impact of exercise on diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, coronary diseases, type two diabetes, heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease, and various types of cancer. While this study is certainly not definitive proof that exercise can better the prognosis and improve quality of life when these diseases are present, it provided strong evidence that it will.
Having a loved one, maybe your mom or dad, maybe an aunt or uncle or a grandparent, with a disease is tough. It drains the whole family thanks to the emotional turmoil that it can create. When senior care is needed on top of this, the situation can become even more stressful. Even the strongest of families can be beaten up in these cases. The question that most people have in this light is: what can we do to help the people that we love?
Luckily, there are many things that you can do.
As we see here, exercise is one of the easiest things that can be done. Even small amounts of exercise can be helpful. While the above mentioned study looked at endurance, strength training, and specific physical therapies, this doesn’t necessarily mean that hours and hours need to be devoted to exercise. For example, one study looked at concluded that six minutes of walking per day could provide benefits. Another found that improving lower body strength also provided huge benefits. Both of these things also have the added benefit of helping to prevent other issues, like balance problems and falls.
Another thing that can be done is help your loved one find high quality senior care. If price is an issue for your family, consider in-home care or assisted living. Both of these things are a fraction of the price of nursing homes or a rehabilitation center. In-home care can be customized to allow a caregiver to come in once or twice a week, which can cut costs even more.
Finally, be sure to educate yourself. The more you know about how to improve your loved one’s health and what types of care may or may not be beneficial to them, the better you can help act as a guide in this respect.
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