ASK THE DOCTOR: Run, Ref, Run!
As I watched soccer’s World Cup matches last month, I was left with one question: Is anyone more fit than a soccer referee?
I am still trying to understand all the rules of international “football,” but thoroughly enjoyed seeing people from all over the world unite around this sport. There is something moving about watching people celebrate the athletes’ hard work, admiring their grace, skill and strength. Many sports offer the chance to join together and cheer, then go into our own backyards and playgrounds to try to push ourselves or just have fun.
Sports are important for community. Exercise in itself is something to celebrate. As I continue to recover from two significant surgeries, I have had to find ways to move my body. Normally, pre-surgery, I run pretty much daily and work on strength in the gym. Neither of these has been an option for me for several months.
So I have been trying to take the advice I have offered to many patients over the years, which is to move in any way you can with the body you have right now.
Aging changes our ability to be athletic — as do illness, stress and environmental challenges. I once ran 365 days in a row, sun or sideways freezing rain, no matter what a given day threw at me. As a physician, I don’t recommend such extremes, but a commitment to move each day in some way when possible is sensible.
Exercise does not require elite status or reporting data to an app. It just does a body good to move. If you are busy, scheduling your exercise is a strategy for success. Pack a bag with walking shoes, exercise clothes or swim gear. Park your car an extra block away from your destination. Stand and stretch at your desk or in front of your easy chair every 15 minutes.
Keep small arm weights within reach. Use a floor pedaler to move those legs while watching TV, reading or working. Dance when music invites it. Play virtual reality video games that make you move the body. Play with a child. Hitch a ride to a flat place that allows use of canes and walkers. Garden. Do tai chi. Join a gym. Watch and join in on a You Tube seated yoga class. Play an instrument (surprisingly active). Take your dog for a walk.
SOMALIAN REFEREE Omar Artan, officiating a regional match, was denied entry to the U.S. for the World Cup. Associated Press photo.
The benefits are many, and I’ve discussed them more than once in the past. Still, given our natural human desire for a magic key to health, there are few better ways than exercise — along with a nutritious diet — to reduce disease, treat depression and anxiety, reduce back pain and arthritic stiffness, bring down blood pressure and improve circulation.
In a culture that tends to glamorize extremes like big races, ultra distances, long winning streaks and other things that look exciting on Instagram, it feels like the boring act of just moving in small ways is not even worth it. I am personally guilty of pushing to extremes as the next logical step. If I can run a 5K, why not a marathon or a 50K? I have enjoyed pushing myself, but the truth is that the benefit and enjoyment of exercise require doing something on a consistent basis, preferably something you enjoy, with bonus points for doing it in a beautiful setting — because nature itself has many health benefits.
We can’t all be World Cup soccer referees. Thankfully, there are a multitude of ways to move our bodies in ways that makes sense for us as we are, right now. The possibilities are endless. Though perhaps not as endless as the last few minutes of a very close soccer match that has you on the edge of your seat, fingernails chewed, stomach turning, all the fans roaring, full of hope.
Dr. Jennifer Heidmann is chief medical officer at Redwood Coast PACE (707-443-9747) at the Humboldt Senior Resource Center. This column should not be taken as medical advice. Ask your medical provider if you have health questions. Send comments to SN@humsenior.org.
