National guidelines recommend those aged 65 plus aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise like walking every day. But a recent report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that only two in five older people are sufficiently active.
Getting older patients to get more active has been on the agenda of the Australian Chiropractors Association. The association’s president Dr Anthony Coxon says it even has an app called Just Start Walking to promote better spinal health by encouraging people to set goals, map and share their walks.
“People have the expectation that as they get older, they should be slowing down, and in many cases, this is not necessary. Being active is really important to maintaining good health right through into your older years. Activity or exercise is much more likely to be continued if it’s also fun and social. Sometimes doing things on your own can be a little bit lonely but doing it with a group adds so much more to the experience.”
