Category Archive for : ‘Ageing’

Effect of Ageing on Back Health – Flexibility Loss

Noticing that simple movements—like bending to tie your shoes or reaching overhead—feel tighter than they used to? That’s the sneaky effect of lost flexibility!

Understanding Flexibility Loss:

Flexibility is your body’s ability to move freely and without restriction. Flexibility is the sum total of movement permitted by joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and fascia. Changes can occur at some or all of these tissue types.As we age, our muscles, tendons, and ligaments naturally stiffen due to decreased collagen production, reduced water content in tissues, and

Effect of Ageing on Back Health – Bone Density

Did you know that from your 30s onwards, you slowly start losing bone density? And after 50, the risk of fractures skyrockets!

Understanding Bone Density Loss:

Bones aren’t just solid structures; they’re living tissue constantly being broken down and rebuilt to withstand the loads put on them. As we age, this bone turnover process slows down, and we start losing more bone mass than we replace. For some, this leads to osteopenia (lower than normal bone density), which can progressively worsen to osteoporosis, a

Effects of Ageing on Back Health: Understanding Disc Degeneration

Ever wondered why your back feels stiffer as you get older? Are you a little shorter than you used to be? It might be due to disc degeneration – a natural part of ageing that affects your spine’s flexibility and comfort.

Understanding Disc Degeneration:
As we age, the spinal discs – the cushions between our vertebrae – start to lose water content. This dehydration makes them thinner and less flexible, reducing their shock-absorbing abilities. Also one reason why we lose height as we age.

Back Pain Myth #7 – Strong Back Equals No Back Pain

 Think hitting the gym is the only way to stop back pain? Not quite! Discover why balanced, purposeful conditioning matters more than brute strength.

Is Strength the Solution to Back Pain?

It’s a common belief: “If I just make my back stronger, I’ll stop having pain.” While strength is important, it’s not the whole story. You can have a strong back and still experience back pain. Why? Because it’s not just about strength—it’s about balance, flexibility, and a back that’s conditioned for

Sarcopenia Part 4; What can you do to treat sarcopenia?

We know what it is, we know why we can develop it, we know how it is diagnosed. Let’s discuss what we can do about it.

There are two burning questions about sarcopenia. Firstly, how do l not get it or even slow down its progression since prevention is always better than cure. Secondly, if l have sarcopenia can l reverse it? Good questions!

Good news! The answer is we can always reverse and rebuild muscle tissue.

Are there any magic bullets? What pill

Part 3; How is sarcopenia diagnosed?

Imaging techniques. The gold standard (best) method for identifying sarcopenia is using MRI or CT studies around the pelvis region where an accurate measure of the body can be taken in cross section. It compares the relative amounts of muscle to fat to establish whether or not you have lost muscle tissue. However its cost and availability reduce how practical it is for everyday usage.

DEXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) is cheaper and more accessible than MRI and CT but is less accurate. Even cheaper