What kind of exercise can elderly people with muscle atrophy do?

It is very normal for middle-aged and elderly people to have some muscle atrophy, and this disease can be prevented by exercising more in daily life. Muscle atrophy in the elderly is generally caused by long-term lack of exercise, which leads to muscle immune degeneration. It can be prevented through some reasonable exercise.

The first is balance exercise . John Higgins, an exercise physiologist at the Houston Health Science Center, said: "Balance training focuses on shaping the leg muscles, which plays a key role in maintaining independence and preventing falls in the elderly." He recommends that the elderly adopt the "heel-toe walking" method, that is, put one foot in front of the other, with the heel touching the toe of the other foot, and walk forward 20 steps, practice three times a day, and three days a week.

The second is strength training. Sheldon Zinberg, former clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine, said: "After the age of 40, people lose 1% of muscle strength every year; after the age of 60, they lose 1.5% of muscle strength every year." To prevent muscle atrophy, Sheldon recommends that the elderly use light objects (2.5 kg dumbbells) to do biceps curls or arm raises 15 to 20 times, and exercise 2 to 3 days a week.

The third is flexibility training. Whether bending down to touch your toes or doing yoga, it can improve the flexibility of the elderly's body. Do it 2 to 3 times a week.

Finally, there is aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise that gets your heart rate up can help older adults maintain a healthy weight and prevent cardiovascular disease. Higgins recommends that older people do aerobic exercise three times a week, each time for 20 to 30 minutes. Some household chores (mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, and gardening) can also count as aerobic exercise.

If a person is very old, muscle atrophy is a very common condition. In fact, muscle atrophy is very harmful to the physical and mental health of the elderly. Moreover, because of muscle atrophy, many elderly people will stay at home and not go to activities. Over time, the progress of muscle atrophy will be accelerated. So, can muscle atrophy be exercised? In fact, some simple exercises that are within the strength can be done.