How Regular Physical Activity Can Decrease Your Chances Of Chronic Disease
There is a large number of the population that doesn’t do enough moving around daily. In fact, there are a lot of people that just don’t participate in regular physical activity at all.
This can be very surprising when you start to look at how effective being active on a daily basis can aid in your overall health. It has been proven that regular physical activity can drastically reduce your risk of developing a chronic disease. This regular movement has also been known to decrease your likelihood of cancer along with improving your bone health, boosting cognitive function, controlling your weight, and promoting your overall quality of life.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report in 2018 that states that nearly 80% of U.S. adults and children are not as active as they should be to ward off chronic disease issues and conditions. Accordingly, an astounding number of Americans are either at risk of or are starting to develop early signs of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even depression.
On a lighter note, this is something that can be combatted and quickly. It is important to start incorporating regular physical activity into your daily life. The easy ones you can think of would be making it to the gym or going for a run in your neighborhood, but there are many people that say they can’t find the time to exercise and be more active. It helps to be more conscious of these not-always-apparent opportunities to move around.
Here are a few tips to try out during your normal day:
- Try parking farther away from the store when you’re shopping to get in those extra steps.
- At work, try standing up intermittently to stretch and maybe even take a walk around the building.
- If you’re standing and waiting, try doing some squats and even lunges if you have enough room.
- Also, here are some great physical therapy videos for beginners to help with living a more healthy and active life.
Appropriate Physical Activity Per Age Group
Below is a breakdown of the appropriate physical activity recommended from the age groups of preschoolers and children all the way up to older adults in their 60s.
Preschool-Aged Children (3-5 Years Old)
Younger children should be physically active for around 3 hours a day at least. Parents and guardians should encourage their younger children to actively play as much as possible, especially with other children their own age.
Adolescents and Children (6-17 Years Old)
Children at this age and all the way up to teenagers need at least 60 minutes or more of activity every day. It is most beneficial for them to take part in activities that strengthen their bones, build muscle, and promote raising their heart beat like participating in sports.
Adults (18-64 Years Old)
Adults in this age group are recommended to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. These adults should also do at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activities a week as well. It also benefits them to do even more physical activity if they are able to for the most healthy results.
Older Adults (65+ Years Old)
At their age, older adults should do a recommended 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week and it is best to include muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days per week. Other great additions would be balance training as well depending on pre-existing conditions and health issues and physical therapy exercises for beginners.
How does exercise help a chronic illness?
Regular exercise can help you manage symptoms and enhance your health if you have a chronic disease.
Losing weight and enhancing heart and endurance are two benefits of aerobic exercise. For the majority of individuals, high-intensity interval training is normally secure and efficient, and it can be quicker. For brief periods of time, high-intensity interval training involves alternating between intensive exercise and less intense exercise. Even more intense forms of exercise like walking count.
Strengthening your muscles through strength training can increase your muscular strength and endurance, make it simpler to carry out everyday tasks, delay disease-related losses in muscle strength, and stabilize your joints.
- Heart illness. Your heart health can be enhanced by regular exercise. Recent research has demonstrated that interval training can have a major positive impact and is frequently well-tolerated by those with heart disease. Exercise can lessen your chance of dying from heart disease and halt the progression of heart disease if you have high blood pressure.
- Diabetes. Exercising on a regular basis can help reduce your blood sugar by encouraging insulin to work more effectively. You may increase your energy and regulate your weight by engaging in physical exercise. Exercise can lessen your chance of dying from heart disease if you have type 2 diabetes.
- Asthma. Exercise often aids in reducing the frequency and intensity of asthma episodes.
- Back pain. Regular low-impact aerobic exercises can help your back become stronger and more resilient while also enhancing muscular function. By bolstering the muscles surrounding your spine, abdominal and back workouts (core-strengthening activities) may help lessen discomfort.
- Arthritis. Exercise can help to preserve muscular strength in the afflicted joints, as well as lessen stiffness in the joints and minimize overall joint discomfort. Additionally, it can enhance the physical well-being and quality of life of arthritis sufferers.
- Cancer. Cancer survivors who exercise often notice an improved quality of life. Additionally, exercise can reduce the chance of dying from prostate, colorectal, and breast cancer.
- Dementia. People with dementia can benefit from exercise, and those who are active frequently have a lower chance of developing dementia.
Which workouts are safe?
Your doctor may advise certain workouts to lessen discomfort or increase strength. You might also need to refrain from doing some workouts completely or while your condition is at its worst, depending on your health. Before beginning an exercise program, you may occasionally need to speak with a physical or occupational therapist.
For instance, if you have low back discomfort, you can choose low-impact cardiovascular exercises like swimming and walking. These kinds of exercises won’t jar or strain your back.
If you have asthma that becomes worse with activity, be sure to have an inhaler with you.
The greatest workouts for people with arthritis vary on the type of arthritis they have and which joints are affected. Work with a physical therapist or your physician to create an exercise plan that will give you the most benefit with the least aggravation on your joints.
How much, how frequently, and how intensely can I work out without harm?
It’s crucial to discuss the length of your exercise sessions and the appropriate amount of intensity with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
Generally speaking, aim to engage in 30 minutes or more of physical exercise every day, at least five days a week. Try brisk walking for around 30 minutes on most days of the week, as an example. Even better, spread out your physical exercise throughout the day in manageable time slots. Anything you do is preferable to nothing at all.
How a Physical Therapist Can Help You Be More Active
There are many aspects of physical activity that you can control yourself with both motivation and general knowledge. There are, however, many limitations to what you can actually do especially if you have suffered an injury or are recovering from surgery that is preventing you from living an active life.
That is where an experienced physical therapist comes in. If you’re looking into “physical therapy near me,” keep in mind that it’s a great way to help build your muscles and strengthen your balance which will enable you to be more active naturally. This physical activity will allow you to live a more active life and help and help slow down or decrease your chances of chronic diseases down the road.
Schedule an appointment with our Desert Edge Physical Therapy team today and ask about our Free Discovery Session.
