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.
Understanding vision loss By Martin S. Yablonski, Med
People who do not have normal vision, even with the help of eyeglasses or corrective lenses, are considered visually impaired. In aging adults, visual impairment is most often caused by eye disease, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts, according to the (US) National Eye Institute.
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Wu style Tai chi for older adults by Master Henry Cheng
In China, public parks often contain groups of people performing slow, graceful and ballet-like movements in unison. Visitors often ask themselves, “What are they doing?” They are performing the movements of Tai Chi, more commonly known as Tai Chi Chuan. Tai Chi Chuan is an ancient art of moving meditation. Originating in China during the Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD), a Taoist monk Cheung San Fung created it while looking for a suitable martial art for his Taoist Sanctuary. Legend says that he often observed long-lived animals such as the crane and the turtle. One night he had a dream about a snake and a crane engaged in a dance-like fight, and thus came the idea for Tai Chi Chuan.
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Decrease the risk of heat-related illness By Patricia Ryan, MS
Every summer as the temperature rises people become ill or die from heat-related illness. Between the years 1979 and 2002, there were 4,780 deaths due to weather-related heat, according the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and of those 44% were people 65 years and older.
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Expand the older adults program with specialized classes by Katy Moline, MS
The SilverSneakers® Fitness Program has been offered at Universal Athletic Club since January 2004 when the program was first available to fitness facilities in Pennsylvania. (Prior to 2004 we offered a similar older adult fitness program, Super Seniors, for our members.)
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Beyond dumbbells
Dumbbells are a stalwart for adding upper-body resistance to exercise. These hand-held weights in various sizes, shapes, metals and designs are found in virtually every fitness setting and are widely available.
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Planning strength exercises for people with arthritis By Mark Richards, MS, PT
Arthritic pain. Does arthritis conjure up thoughts of discomfort and the need to decrease activity and increase rest? Understandably, those are natural responses to pain. Often, patients and clients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are advised to slow down, to take it easy, and certainly to avoid any significant activity for the involved joints. But, is it possible those recommendations do more harm than good? The answer from the research appears to be “yes.”
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