Bone, Joint & Muscle Health Archive

Power is the ability to generate a large amount of force in a short amount of time. It can help people to properly and safely execute many everyday movements, such as climbing stairs, lifting and carrying heavy objects, twisting, pulling, and throwing. Power also improves movement efficiency and reaction time, helping to prevent injuries from falls. Increasing overall muscle mass with regular strength training and doing plyometric exercises and explosive moves using a medicine ball can help build power.

As people get older, they may get clumsier because of multiple factors such as declining hearing and vision, loss of muscle, balance issues, and chronic health conditions. Addressing these issues can help people avoid injury from falls and other accidents.

Tennis leg refers to a strained calf muscle, usually the gastrocnemius. A person can injure the muscle during activity when planting the foot down hard or suddenly changing direction. This might happen during sports, such as tennis, or even while walking or jogging. Mature athletes, who are prone to injury, are vulnerable to the injury. Treatment can involve resting, elevating, and icing the calf muscle; wearing a compression sock; taking painkillers; getting physical therapy; and having surgery.

Shoulder mobility is crucial for safely reaching overhead, carrying heavy items, and engaging in sports such as golf, tennis, and pickleball. Halos are one of the best exercises for improving shoulder mobility, flexibility, and strength. They can be performed with a kettlebell, a dumbbell, or even a heavy book. Halos are done by holding the weight with both hands and rotating it around the head in a circular motion, first in one direction and then the other, as if drawing a halo over the head.

Hand therapy is an effective way to overcome lost hand function due to injuries or underlying conditions. A course of therapy typically lasts for six weeks. It involves working with a certified hand therapist (CHT) who can develop and then guide someone through a tailored program of physical and functional exercises. CHTs also can make splints, offer emotional support, and help people learn to manage hand pain and swelling. It’s best to start hand therapy before an injured hand has healed completely.

Topical painkillers might be safer than pills to relieve discomfort from muscle strains (like a pulled hamstring) or ligament sprains (like a sprained ankle). This is because topicals target the area of pain. As a result, other parts of the body are exposed to lower levels of medicine. That’s important, since some painkillers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can pose severe risks—such as heart attack and stroke.

Older men can get “flat” or weak buttocks from spending too much time sitting, which can weaken gluteal muscles and create tight hip flexors. This weakness can place excess demand on other parts of the body, which can lead to pain in the lower back, hips, and knees and increase risk for lower-body injuries. The best way to strengthen a weak backside is to break up prolonged periods of sitting with regular movement and perform exercises that build up gluteal muscles, such as deadlifts, bridges, and step-ups.