Less than 10 minutes a day of brisk walking can help prevent disability in people with arthritis pain in their knee, hip, ankle or foot, researchers report. Just one hour a week of brisk physical activity “is less than 10 minutes a day for people to maintain their independence. It’s very doable,” said lead study author Dorothy Dunlop. She’s a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “This minimum threshold may motivate inactive older adults to begin their path toward a physically active lifestyle with the wide range of health benefits promoted by physical activity,” Dunlop added in a university news release. She and her team analyzed four years of data from more than 1,500 older adults in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, and Pawtucket, R.I., who had pain, aching or stiffness in their lower joints from osteoarthritis but were initially free of disability. The participants’ levels of physical activity were monitored using a wearable device. An hour a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity reduced their risk of disability, the study found. Specifically, the activity reduced the risk of walking too slowly to safely cross a street by 85 percent, and their risk of not being able to do daily living activities — for example, morning routine tasks such as walking across a room, bathing and dressing — by nearly…  read on >

Toned biceps not only give your upper body a sleek look, but they’re also vital for improving the upper body strength needed for daily living. The Single Biceps Curl is a simple classic and the perfect first exercise for strength training these muscles. You can start with a light weight and add more over time as you get stronger. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Your palms face inward, with the weight touching the outsides of your thighs. Start with the right arm. Rotate your wrist so that palm faces up, and then slowly lift the weight until it reaches your right shoulder. Maintain control — don’t jerk the weight. Slowly lower to starting position. As soon as the weight touches your thigh, repeat the curl with your left arm. Continue to alternate sides. Do 10 to 15 reps on each side for one complete set. Build from one to three sets before increasing the weight. As you progress, you can challenge yourself by curling both arms at the same time using either a pair of dumbbells or a single weight bar held in both hands. The variation called Concentration Curls focuses on one arm at a time. Sit on a bench, legs apart, feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, palm facing…  read on >

Want two moves that will effectively develop your lower body? Then add lunges and squats to your strength-training workout. These exercises primarily use your own body weight to effectively strengthen muscles, and can be adapted for both beginners and more advanced athletes. The lunge works the quads, hamstrings, glutes and, to a lesser degree, the lower leg muscles. Lunges can be done as a forward or reverse movement. The reverse is easier for beginners. Step backward with your left foot, extending the leg behind you as you bend the right knee until the right thigh is parallel with the floor or as close as feels comfortable. Press your right heel into the floor to bring yourself back to the starting position. When you want to progress, switch to the forward lunge. The left foot steps forward with the knee bending over the foot as you lower your right knee behind you. You can draw on your body weight or intensify results by holding hand weights. Whatever your level, repeat only as many times as you are able to do so with correct form. For beginners, that may be as few as five lunges with each leg. Build up to three sets of 10 to 20 reps on each leg. The squat targets the quads and hamstrings. Developing these muscles will help protect the knees. Stand…  read on >

Think exercise has to be high-intensity to make a difference to your health? Think again. New research shows that even routine housework and gardening can help older women’s hearts. “For older women, any and all movement counts towards better cardiovascular health,” said Dr. David Goff. He’s director of the division of cardiovascular sciences at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which funded the new research. “When we tell people to move with heart, we mean it, and the supporting evidence keeps growing,” he said in an institute news release. Heart disease remains the leading killer of American women and nearly 68 percent of women aged 60 to 79 have heart disease, according to the NHLBI. The new study was led by Andrea LaCroix, of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Her team tracked the activity of more than 5,800 U.S. women, aged 63 to 97. Each wore a device that measured their movement 24 hours a day for a full week. The researchers then tracked each woman’s heart health over the next five years. The investigators found that even light physical activity — gardening, going for a stroll, folding clothes — appeared to reduce the risk of stroke or heart failure by up to 22 percent, and the risk of heart attack or coronary death by as much as 42 percent.…  read on >

Drowning can be swift and silent, making it a leading cause of accidental death among children. To help parents protect their kids in and around the water, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated its water safety recommendations. Drowning is the third-leading cause of accidental injury-related death among 5- to 19-year-olds. Nearly 1,000 children in the United States died from drowning in 2017, and 8,700 were seen at hospital emergency departments after a drowning event, according to the AAP. Toddlers and teens are at highest risk. “Drowning is the single leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 4,” said Dr. Sarah Denny, lead author of the updated policy statement. “Many of these deaths occur when children are not expected to be swimming or when they have unanticipated access to water. Toddlers are naturally curious; that’s why we must implement other strategies, such as pool fencing and door locks,” she added in an AAP news release. But little kids aren’t the only ones at high risk. Nearly 370 young people between 10 and 19 years of age drown each year in the United States. “Adolescents can be overconfident in their swimming abilities and are more likely to combine alcohol use with swimming — compounding their risk significantly. Children of color, especially African American teens, are especially at risk,” Denny said. The policy…  read on >