Each year some 300,000+ people suffer hip fractures.  Some 100,000 of these people will not survive a year secondary to complications for surgery, trauma, blood clots, pneumonia, etc.  Knowing these statistics alone is enough to ask the question, “What can I do?”

Here are a few:

1. Better the Bones – Low impact exercise for long durations (30 minutes +) can improve the quality of bone stock or more importantly, prevent you for losing more.  This is particularly important in post menopausal women that are losing bone density faster than their male counterparts. 

2. Muscle Maintenance – We lose muscle as we age due to the effects of time but MOSTLY BECAUSE WE STOP USING THE MUSCLES!  I cannot highlight this fact enough.  Walking on a regular basis helps maintain the leg and core musculature that assists with daily tasks, including going up and down stairs, squatting to get the laundry, and getting up from low surfaces. 

3. Keeping Balanced – I always like to tell people that “Gravity never hurt anyone…but the ground does.”  There is still debate in the medical world whether breaks occur because “the hip broke because I fell” or “the hip broke and then I fell.”  If the bone breaks before you fall…I really can’t help you there but in respects to the falling part, maintaining improved balance by walking on a regular basis will reduce your risk of the first one considerably. 

4. Improved Circulation – Again, not a shocker that as people age things don’t heal as fast.  Well, they are even slower to heal if you do nothing all day.  Walking on a regular basis improves circulation which assists in getting the right nutrients and building materials for damaged body parts. 

MESSAGE: Get up and walk everyday for 30 minutes to keep those hips healthy.  Please consult your doctor to make sure you are capable of participating in such activity.  Your doctor would love to hear a message from you stating, “I want to get exercising more, what should I do.”  Believe me….your doctor is waiting for that call.