Tai Chi for seniors and the elderly can help prevent falls

October 12, 7:57 PMPittsburgh Elder Care ExaminerDavid Lindberg

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Exercise has its benefits for all ages, including seniors. We all know that exercise in any form is not only a good thing but an absolute must to enable all of us to have the best chance at a healthy life. This is especially helpful for seniors to insure the best chance at keeping up a productive and happy lifestyle. As our lifespan is steadily increasing and medical improvements keep us living longer, we need to keep moving to insure that this extended lifetime is one in which our minds and bodies can continue enabling us to live independently.

The Pittsburgh Carnegie Library has many fitness videos that are geared toward seniors and the elderly. Just because one is older doesn’t mean they don’t need to exercise any longer. In fact, just the opposite is the case. The more we exercise, the longer we will avoid diseases such as hypertension, heart and Alzheimer’s.

Here is a link to many of these fitness videos for seniors:
http://www.clpgh.org/research/social services/seniors/fitness.html

One especially good, but not as well known may be Tai Chi. Tai Chi is actually a form of martial arts but is a gentle, slow movement form of exercise that stresses balance and slow, gentle movement. The benefit of Tai Chi for seniors is in the promotion of the muscles that provide balance and thus help preventing falls, which is an issue that many elderly face. Falls when elderly can be much more devastating and many times result in a domino effect of health issues. Many times, when an elderly person falls and breaks their hip, the surgery and following lengthy healing time can initiate depression and ultimately even Alzheimer’s Disease.