Being a senior means staying active without risk

We know that staying active is important for optimal health. Be it an obese child who is told to get out and play, a middle-aged person told not to be a couch potato, or a senior told to keep walking despite a recent back injury, the message is almost always: “keep moving.”

I’ve personally subscribed to this and try to stay as active as I can, both physically and mentally. I’ve always had a “use it or lose it” mentality.

But is this always the wisest idea?

This winter my wife, her sister and I went on a Caribbean cruise. It offered a lot of activities and I was determined to enjoy as many as possible. One of them was a tightrope walk at the top of the ship. I was watching the young people all week gather their courage and do it. I knew my wife was not up to it but I convinced myself to try it. So on our last day, I was first in line. But once in position, I realized I might just get out there, swaying to and fro over the edge of the ship, and not be able to get back in. In the end, I decided not to attempt it. It was embarrassing to have to stop and retreat. But I needed to ask myself how many other 70-year-olds I had seen up there.

I have been reflecting on this failure of nerve. Or was it that?

We know that seniors have a propensity for higher rates of car accidents as they try to retain the privilege and freedom of being able to drive. We also know they have a very high rate of falls that land them in hospital.

I have the privilege to be on the Peterborough Regional Hospital Board. One of our responsibilities is to monitor the occurrence of critical incidents and put in place actions to minimize risk and harm. Falls count for many of those incidents. We have made good progress on almost every other factor over the past five years but despite the efforts of our outstanding staff, fall-related injuries are not on the decline.

So being active is good for the most part, especially when one’s freedom and independence are at play, but can quickly become dangerous the older we get. And one just does not want to admit that they cannot perform basic functions for themselves. Getting out of bed by oneself is one of those things that we think we should be able to do. But after surgery, or when we are on medications, or frail after prolonged bedrest, our faculties may not all be quite up to speed.

I wanted to do that tight rope walk; it would have been a great challenge and adventure. Too bad I only had the chance now, rather than when I was a teen.

But there’s another tightrope to walk: that between staying active and staying safe. How do we find the balance needed for that trajectory?

What I am realizing in my own life is that as I age, I must accept limits. For example, I plan to take a canoe trip with my sons and grandchildren this July. Unlike in previous years, I will not be carrying any canoes on my head nor any heavy food barrel. I may just have to enjoy the same privilege I once extended to my sons when they were little, and stick to carrying the light stuff.

We can be active and still be smart about it. We shouldn’t stop pushing ourselves to try new things, but we need to be humble enough to accept our limits. Come to think of it, that bit of common sense applies to people of all ages.