St. Louis, MO    (314) 939-1377
HouseFit Physical Therapy & Fitness
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Bone Health
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Health Tips
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Contact
  • Book Dr. Beth
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Bone Health
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Health Tips
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Contact
  • Book Dr. Beth

Resilience And Why It Matters As You Age

4/1/2023

 
Picture

By: Dr. Beth Templin

Reslience is a term that has gained more popularity over the past few years, but what does it actually mean?



And why should you care about it as you age? By definition, resilience is the capacity to endure, or recover quickly from a stress. In the medical world, it's also know as physiologic reserve, and refers to your body's ability to tolerate, and recover form increased demands - whether it be an illness, an injury, an increased physical workload, or added emotional stress.

Your physiologic reserve tends to decrease with age.
Think of it as a tank of gas. When your tank is full, it's easy to navigate construction, or wait while an accident gets cleared.

When your tank is near empty, and an unforeseen event happens, you are less likely to reach your destination. Similarly, when you have an abundance of physiologic reserve, you can easily recover from an unplanned illness or injury.

As your physiologic reserve diminishes, you struggle to overcome the same illness or injury.
For example, someone who is active and healthy can usually recover from about of pneumonia, or a urinary track infection (UTI) pretty easily. The same illnesses can be devastating to another person, who already has underlying health and mobility issues.

We see it all the time.
We also see this happen when someone can "bounce back" after an injury like a fall, where as others take much longer to recover from the same type of injury. The biggest difference is how strong the body is beforehand. The stronger and more robust the physiologic reserve, the better the capacity to recover from a stressful stimulus to the body.

Other examples include someone who is weak and frail. If they lift a heavy grocery bag or laundry basket, they are at a higher risk of injuring themselves, compared to someone who lifts weight on a regular basis.

Resilience also includes your emotional toughness. Have you ever noticed how some people are able to stay optimistic, even in the face of bad news, or an unanticipated crisis, while others may be devastated by the simplest inconvenience?

How To Build Resilience

If you guessed the answer is exercise, you'd be right. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve not only your medical health, but your strength and endurance as well. As you build up your fitness levels, you have a better ability to recover quickly from any physical or emotional demands, illness, or injuires that may come your way.

Caregivers Need Resilience Too
I think we often forget about the huge toll being a caregiver can take on someone. Not only do you need to be healthy and strong enough to take care of yourself, but you have a loved one counting on you.

What we see too often is that caregivers will do anything to help their loved one get stronger, or more mobile, but they often times will not prioritize their own needs. This leads to caregiver burnout from being "on" emotionally all the time.

This also places caregivers at a higher risk of injury, if they are trying to keep someone steady on their feet, or trying to help them in and out of bed. The physical demands can be so high. My advice to caregivers is to ask for help, to make sure your needs (physical, social, emotional) are being met. Take care of yourself, so you can continue to take care of your loved one.

? Dr. Beth




Watch our Exercise of The Month

Stay up to date on information for healthy aging, special offers and events at HouseFit.​ Click on the button above and subscribe for our free monthly newsletter!

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    AUTHOR

    Dr. Beth helps adults 55+ maximize their independence and fitness, so they can continue to enjoy a full and active life.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All
    Age In Place
    Agility
    Aging
    Anti Aging
    Arthritis
    Balance
    Benefits
    Bones
    Boxing
    Classes
    Dizziness
    Endurance
    Exercise
    Falls
    Fear
    Fitness
    Fitness Routine
    Flexibility
    Flexible
    Frailty
    Good Posture
    Group Classes
    Group Exercise
    Healthy Living
    Immune System
    Independence
    Intensity
    Joints
    Managing Stress
    Memory
    Movements
    Mucles
    Muscles
    Neuro
    Neuropathy
    One Year Anniversary
    Online Classes
    Osteoarthritis
    Osteroporosis
    Pain
    Physical Therapist
    Physical Therapy
    Posture
    Senior Fitness
    Seniors
    Sensory
    Sore Muscles
    Stiff Joints
    Stiff Muscles
    Stiffness
    Strength
    Strength Training
    Stress At You Age
    Stretching
    Tingling
    Vestibular Rehab
    Weakness

    RSS Feed

Address:
3809 Lemay Ferry Rd
​Saint Louis, MO 63125

​
​Phone Number
:
(314) 939-1377


Fax Number:
​(314) 449-9173


Email:
​
info@housefitstl.com


​Office Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:45am to 4:45pm

Privacy Policy
No Surprise Act

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
All information on this website  is intended for instruction and informational purposes only. The authors are not responsible for any harm or injury that may result. Significant injury risk is possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied on this website.
Service Area: St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County
​Copyright 2022 - HouseFit- All Rights Reserved