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As a person’s age increases, his ease of mobility also reduces. This means that your everyday activities, such as getting up from a chair, require more effort, putting more stress on the joints. This leads to a need for assistance, which reduces self-reliance and personal independence.
Generally walking is considered the standard of fitness and everyone aims to walk 10 thousand steps daily. But is this enough to keep your legs strong and maintain independent mobility later in life?
John Thompson, a Massachusetts-based home care physiotherapist, shared in a Sept. 30 Instagram post why walking may not be enough, based on his experience seeing older adults throughout his career.
He said, “Walking alone won’t keep you independent, but that’s what will happen. I’m a home care physical therapist who works with older adults, and what I see may shock you. Patients who have walked for years still struggle on stairs and have trouble getting up from their chair, and that’s because walking doesn’t increase leg strength.”
Why is walking not enough?
Although the benefits of walking should not be underestimated, problems arise when relying solely on it, especially if your goal is to maintain independence. According to physical therapist, the movement of knees is very limited while walking, hence it does not strengthen the joints.
Also read: Study finds that just 15 minutes of brisk walking a day can reduce the risk of death by 20%
“Just look at how little your knees bend when you walk. It’s nowhere near the range of motion that’s required to get off the toilet,” John explains, highlighting how waking up involves minimal knee movement, much less than your regular tasks demand. This means that later in life you may have trouble bending your knees easily. Joint movement is important for every major activity in daily life.
What to do then?
So what should you do if walking isn’t enough? John shared a very easy exercise that only takes a few minutes, yet is far more productive for your foot and joint health than hours of walking.
Describing the exercise he said, “Stand up and sit up from your chair, and try to do 30 times in a row. One minute of squats a day will do more for your legs than hours of walking.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
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