Minimum Risk Of Injury, 7 Sports Is Suitable For The Elderly

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JAKARTA - Even though it's old age, exercise is still recommended for the elderly for the sake of their quality of life and brightening their mood. However, it is important to remember the physical condition of the elderly which makes not just any sport possible.

Sports Medicine Specialist Sport Medicine, Injury & Recovery Center Pondok Indah Hospital Bintaro Jaya, dr. Antonius Andi Kurniawan, Sp.KO, explained a number of sports that are suitable for the elderly. What are the choices of sports that are suitable for the elderly? Here's the list:

This activity can increase stamina, burn excess calories, and strengthen the heart. The distance does not need to be too far and the duration does not need to be too long, the important thing is to do it regularly in 30 minutes per day.

Cycling, which is a type of cardio, is also able to maintain heart health. Don't forget to set the saddle and handle the bicycle according to your body to minimize injury.

Dance Doing dance while accompanied by music or fun songs is certainly a very fun activity. Not only that, it turns out that dancing is also good for maintaining fitness and body balance.

This sport is a low impact with various benefits that can be felt by the elderly. Regular swimming can help strengthen muscles and joints, make the body more relaxed, improve sleep quality, help overcome arthritis conditions (osteoartritis), pinched nerves, or low back pain. practice blood flow, and good for heart, brain, and lung health.

This sports election helps train breathing, targeting smaller and deeper muscles. In addition, this exercise also supports joints by balancing strength, mobility, and flexibility. Pillates are also able to help increase bone density and drain the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and help improve body posture in the elderly.

Yoga Yoga is a type of sport that aims to train the focus of mind and breathing. Not only is it beneficial for physical health, yoga is also good for the mental health of the elderly so that it can reduce the risk of stress or even depression.

ChiSekilas Tai, the tai chi movement is almost the same as normal gymnastics, it's just that it has a slower rhythm. This sport is good for increasing flexibility, balance, and body strength.

Although, for example, it is still permissible to do favorite sports when you are young by a doctor, it should be remembered that when you enter old age, there will naturally be changes in muscles, bones, and joints.

Decreased bone density causes greater risk of bone injury. In the elderly, the recovery and repair process of cells may not be as fast as before.

Not to mention, there is a decrease in bone and muscle mass, a decrease in the supporting structure of the joints, and a decrease in the flexibility of the body's structures are prone to causing sports injuries.

So, the elderly must be careful during exercise to avoid the risk of injury that may occur. Andi explained that the risk of sports injuries in the elderly includes fractures, this can occur when doing high impact exercise or an injury occurs due to trauma, for example when falling from a bicycle. Bone spots are at risk in the elderly due to decreased bone density in the elderly.

Another risk of injury is low back pain caused by lifting objects that are too heavy or the body's position that is not right when exercising. The existence of a degenerative process on the spinal cord bearings and the history of pinched nerves also increases the risk of this health disorder.

In addition, the elderly are also at risk of experiencing a rotator puff, namely a torn shoulder bearing that usually occurs in people who often exercise golf or who use a lot of shoulder joints in their daily activities.

Robes on the knee structure can also occur and are more at risk for the elderly with excess weight. The knee injury, a tear in the ligament and a meniscus that supports knee stability, can occur when too many stairs go up and down, landing in an inappropriate position after jumping, rotating too fast, as well as the load given suddenly when both feet tread the ground.

Andi explained that handling sports injuries that require operational action can usually be carried out by orthopedic surgeons for sports injury andarttroskopi consultants.

Doctors will use minimal invasive techniques with minimum incisions, so that the elderly can recover faster than conventional operations. After the operational action is carried out, carry out a recovery program to completion, to minimize the risk of recovery in the future. Meanwhile, to deal with injuries that do not require surgery, as well as efforts in the postoperative recovery process, sports medicine specialists will evaluate and then design recovery programs that are in accordance with the elderly's conditions.