As a physiologist, my late father understood well the relationship between activity and health. He developed a seated exercise plan to move every major joint in his body and was still using this ten minute daily warm up at age 93. In assisted living, he participated in the taped seated exercise program in the morning, napped regularly, and took a stroll after dinner in the garden, weather permitting. His final decline began at the age of 95 when he fell and broke his hip; his balance had been diminished by pain medication for collapsed neck vertebrae. After several weeks of hard work in physical therapy he was able to use a walker, but not for long. The hip had healed, but his feet were not working well and he spent the last few months of his life in a wheelchair. I know of no one who fought harder to stay alive through movement than my father.
Margiof WA11:33AM May 07, 2009
My late husband became almost totally inactive the last ten years of his life because of pain from a number of unrelated problems. Despite our doctor's efforts to urge him to do some exercises to alleviate some of the pain, he declined--and declined. I'm sure his inactivity led to a blood clot (DVT-deep vein thrombosis)migrating to his lung and causing death very shortly thereafter.
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