Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Physical wellness
Exercise and chronic pain: opening the therapeutic window by Kim Dupree Jones, PhD and Janice Holt Hoffman
Acute pain is a vital, protective mechanism that permits us to live in an environment fraught with potential dangers. In contrast, chronic pain serves no such physiologic role. It is not a symptom, but a disease state.
morePhysical wellness
Young at heart: ballroom dancing for older adults by Henry G. J. G. Godzik, CFP, CPTS, CSNA, ACE
Ballroom dancing, which used to be considered solely a social pursuit, has blossomed into one of the most entertaining and fun ways to socialize and stay fit. Once associated with movie clips of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, ballroom dancing is increasingly part of the mainstream of everyday life. The popularity of movies such as Strictly Ballroom, Shall We Dance and Take the Lead, as well as the television series Dancing with the Stars, shows that ballroom dancing has become a hit with people of all ages—especially older adults.
morePhysical wellness
Fitness for golfers by Yung-Shen Tsai, PhD, PT, Timothy C. Sell, PhD, PT, and Scott M. Lephart, PhD, ATC
Golf offers a wide array of benefits that can be appreciated over the span of a lifetime. Fitness, recreation, socialization and competition are reasons why golf is attractive to older adults.
Unlike other sports, golfers play more and spend more on the game as they get older. According to a report from the US National Golf Foundation, senior golfers (over 50 years old) account for about 25% of the total golfer population-and this percentage is increasing. Older golfers are dedicated to the game; they play 50% of all rounds and account for 53% of all spending on golf (1).
Physical wellness
Lesson plan for a balance class by Susan Bovre, M.A.
Maintaining balance is the result of a complex interaction of many systems and subsystems of the human body. With aging, changes occur that reduce the efficiency of these systems, which jeopardizes balance and increases the risk of falls.
morePhysical wellness
Muscle imbalances in older adults: improving posture and decreasing pain by Phil Page
The word posture automatically makes us sit up straight. We remember being told as children to mind our posture—keep the shoulders down, back erect, head lifted and stomach pulled in. Most of us didn’t know at the time that posture affects our health.
Good posture is associated with proper skeletal alignment (Kendall et al., 2005). Our bones must be aligned correctly for our muscles, joints, ligaments, nerves and internal organs to function well. Unfortunately, human posture changes throughout the life span—most times worsening with age.
Physical wellness
Count the steps to motivate walking by Patricia Ryan
Walking requires little equipment and provides lots of health benefits. You can facilitate walking by helping the older adults you work with use two tools: a step counter (pedometer) and a walking log. These tools are inexpensive and, with your guidance, a great way to start walking or to increase steps. In this article, you'll learn how to use step counters and logs to increase walking. The Client Handout features a walking log to copy for your participants.
more
