Sarcopenia , impact on senior citizens and how to take care

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength as a result of ageing. It leads to gradual decline in the quality of life . Here are few of its impact and how one should take care -

1. To develop a habit of being able to stand ... just don’t sit!  ... and don’t lie down if you can sit!

2. After the age of 50~60, it is not possible to lose weight, especially if you do not exercise and rely on eating less to lose weight! Because if all the muscles are lost, it can be dangerous!

3. Does running, cycling or climbing hurt the knee?
If you have never exercised before you can only go running, biking, or climbing in your mind as it will hurt your knees a lot! But if you have enough muscle strength and slowly develop the habit of running, cycling, and climbing, it can be a good exercise and not hurt your knees!  Whether you hurt your knees or not depends on your muscle strength!

4. If an elderly person is sick and hospitalized, don't ask him to rest more ... or lie down and relax and not get out of bed !  Lying down for a week loses at least 5% of muscle mass ! And the old man can't get his muscles back !

5. Don't think that you are helping by not letting the elders do any housework, and scold the maid if they do it ! Usually, many elderly people who hire helpers lose muscle faster !

6. Don't just do a single activity every day when you go to the park.
Don't just shake your hands when you can also shake your legs. You must also pull the horizontal bar or move every sports equipment! Because as long as a person moves, then all the muscles of whole body will be involved! Many elderly people even have difficulty swallowing because of insufficient exercise! In the end, they could not even cough up a mouthful of sputum and die because of this!

7. Sarcopenia is more terrifying than osteoporosis !
With osteoporosis you just need to be careful not to fall, whereas sarcopenia not only affects the quality of life but also causes high blood sugar due to insufficient muscle mass!

8. The fastest loss of sarcopenia is in the muscle of the legs!
Because when a person sits or lie down, the legs are not moving and the muscle strength of the legs are affected ... this is particularly important !  So be active , squat at least 20 to 30 times a day. Squat is not squatting down but like sitting on the toilet seat ... you can use a chair and stand up when your butt touches the seat!

Taiwan's advanced medical system also have health insurance but on average the elderly in Taiwan spend 8 years in a wheelchair until they lie in bed before they die! And you don't want to have eight years of old age when the quality of life is so poor!

So one must pay attention to Sarcopenia ! Move up and down stairs , go running, cycling , trekking and climbing are all great exercises and will increase muscle mass!

For a better quality of life for everyone in old age , keep moving.

- Member contribution