The Joy of Aging: It's better than you think!

Aging is supposed to be a reward, not a punishment.  However, we live in a culture of youth, with media stars and fashion models all being (at least temporarily) young.  So images of health, happiness, sex appeal, charisma and energy are all demonstrated by young people, as if they owned all of these positive qualities.  By default, we think of our elders (if we think of them much at all) as having none of these attributes.  This is the basis of many misconceptions about our aging population, and, even more importantly, about the stereotype that we all carry about our own future.  The reason plastic surgery is so common today is that people are horrified to see themselves getting old.  Yet much of the prejudice about how our own body will age is wrong.  Let's take a look at some of the myths of aging (and take a bit of the pressure off ourselves in the process!):

1.  As we age, we can expect arthritis.  Wrong.  Arthritis is something that can happen at any age, including childhood.  When we see Grampa in shorts in the summer, we notice huge knees in the middle of noodle-thin legs.  Gramps is sure slow to get up from a sitting position.  But this does not mean the problem is arthritis inside the knee joint itself.  When muscles are not exercised, they atrophy.  Thigh muscles that once bulged are now concave.  Even with no change in the joints, the knees will start to look "nobbly" like those of a giraffe.  If Gramps is slow to get up from a sitting position, it is more likely from the lack of muscular strength rather than from arthritis.   

Action item: Exercise, but first consult your doctor and a fitness professional.  Pick activities that suit your interest, or you will quickly lose your enthusiasm.  Also pick something that suits your abilities, and won't cause any harm.  Consider yoga, pilates, aerobics on land or in the pool, or any one of the thousands of sports available from tennis to skiing.  

2.  As we age, our spines will become hunched over, like we are looking for quarters.  Wrong.  Ballerinas and professional models, even in late age, maintain great posture.  This is not by accident, but by discipline; they do daily routines of stetching and toning to keep standing tall. 

Body builder Jack Lalanne, at http://www.jacklalanne.com/jack.html shows amazing posture and energy at age 94 by keeping his muscles toned.  My partner, chiropractor Dr. Brian Stutz, just returned from a convention where he met hundreds of his colleagues, some still working in their 90's.  Even in their tenth decade, all had youthful posture.  Obviously there is something to all the alignment work they do on each other!   

Action items:  Modern work ergonomics are static, drawing our shoulders and necks into forward flexion.  We can see this when we are driving, working in front of our computers, or hunched over a desk reading.  To rebalance the body, start excercising the  muscles that extend in the opposite direction.  For instance, using pulleys or rubber bands to do "rowing" exercises will pull the shoulder blades together, and help oppose the stronger muscles on the front of the chest. Doing daily stretching will lengthen muscles that spend all day contracted: the hamstrings, as well as the pectoral muscles of the front of the ribcage.  Visit a chiropractor for an initial assessment, and consider occasional maintenance visits to treat your alignment.  By doing this you should be able to keep your spine from curving forward, and keep your body fit for vigorous activities for extra years.

3.  Wrinkled skin:  To be sure, none of us will be as smooth-skinned at 80 as we were at 20.  But much of what we assume to be "normal aging" of the face is nothing more than muscle atrophy.  Just like in the legs, this leaves concavities where the muscles once bulged.  Hence the sunken cheeks, drooping eyelids, and downturned mouth.  But your skin does not need to look as wrinkled as this photo: alright, this is an elephant, but you still don't want these wrinkles!

Action item: consider toning your facial muscles the way the professional spas do it.  Use the power of micro-electric current to stimulate your face, and to pump up all 22 muscles on each side.  The skin over top will still age, but muscle toning will take years off your face.  Visit http://www.facemaster.com/ to see Suzanne Somers show how it's done.  In today's economy, it is cheaper to buy your own machine than it is to have even one single treatment at a spa. 

So look aging directly in the face, and don't fear the future.  Not all the answers come from the plastic surgeon's menu.  Take control of your own muscles, and you will have more spring in your step, more height in your spine, and more joy in your face. 

Dr. Hanson welcomes your comments.  Visit Dr. Stutz at his site at http://www.peterhansonmd.com/.