Exercise: the Best Medicine for Beating Back Dementia

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. That means that every 66 seconds, a new diagnosis is made. Many of us are, unfortunately, familiar with the rapid onset and cruel, unsettling symptoms of this disease, by virtue of watching a loved one go through it. With no…

Hospital Associated Deconditioning: Resistance Isn’t Futile! 2

Patient data points to physical therapy as a highly effective mechanism for combatting HAD. Undertaking a program of early and vigorous exercise during a patient’s stay is perhaps the best antidote to the pernicious deconditioning effects of prolonged hospitalization. Of particular interest is the finding that supervised high-intensity exercise is a highly beneficial addition to a patient’s physical therapy protocol, when fending off HAD. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to associate age with frailty; it turns out the fountain of youth may lie within ourselves, if we are open to a little bit of huffing and puffing to uncover it.