Middle Age (322)
Chapter 1 – Middle Age
蘇鎮邦 (Christopher So)：
舒整物理治療師 (Manipulative Physiotherapist) 人類工程師 (Ergonomist)
The Chinese saying that a setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise tells us to view fortunes and disasters with calm and peace. No need to be too happy nor too sad. For Christians, fortunes and disasters come according to God’s will and grace in order that we may learn to trust in Him with humility, endurance, submission and faith.
In 1992, during the recession in Australia, I lost my job as a Physiotherapist and an Ergonomist in Nissan Rehabilitation Centre inside the Nissan Motor Company. This was a steady job with good wages. At the same time, I moved to a new house and my first child was born. Even though I have been a Christian for over 30 years, my human weakness caused a bit of worry. My clinic at home was forced to become full time instead of part time. To increase security, I found a high wage and flexible job in the age care sector. In the beginning, I did not enjoy the job but slowly I submitted to the will of God and learnt to be humble. In the Old Testaments, Moses was changed from Pharaoh’s prince to be a shepherd. I was still working as a physiotherapist and serving the old people was meaningful job. Now I understand that God wants me to learn about the problems of the aged. This also makes me to look after my own health more through having an appropriate amount and type of exercises also following a balanced diet. Friends, I want to share with you not only the Gospel of Christ so that you can have spiritual health. Also, I want to share with you what I would call the Second Gospel so that you can have physical health as well.
I can only give you some general principles. You need to consult professionals for specific details and diagnosis.
First, any exercises need to be gradual and progressive. Rushing into them can cause strain. The appropriate amount of exercise depends on individual exercise tolerance and gradual increase is necessary.
Secondly, individual goals are good guidelines e.g. weight loss and normalize blood pressure. It is medically proven that the appropriate amount of exercises can reverse type II diabetes and is good for heart and blood pressure problems.
Lastly, the ultimate principle of success is persistence and perseverance. Many of my patients always ask me at the end of the course of treatment whether there are any more exercise for them. I tell them if I give you too many exercises and if you cannot keep up you will give up. The key is not how many exercises but the right amount of exercise that you can keep doing for a long time. The key is to make it into a ‘habit’ like brushing teeth ‘twice a day’. There is a Chinese saying that to learn to be bad you only need three days but to learn to be good you need three years. In reality, junk food is generally more tasty than good food. Good habits are always harder to acquire than bad habits.
If you are over 70 years old, walking may be considered to be an exercise. For younger people, you need to sweat and increase your heart rate substantially before you can consider it as exercise. My personal opinion is that running is not a good exercise because it causes wear and tear and it does not help general joint mobility. Swimming may not cause obvious sweating but it is very good for cardiovascular functions and joint mobility. An exercise bike is considered to be non-weight bearing exercise. Also, it has the advantage of not being affected by weather.
I am over 50 years old. My cholesterol ratio is 3.9, my resting heart rate is 54-56, my blood pressure is 106/60, my good cholesterol is 1.99 (normal > 1). I am166 cm and135 lb/62.5kg.
My personal exercise regime is neck, thoracic and back exercises to maintain joint mobility. Push up exercise (increase from 30 to 70 over 10 years) and knee exercises (quadriceps and hamstrings exercises plus icing) help my tennis game. With the kids in university, I can play tennis three times a week for 3-4 hours. My advantage is that I am a fairly disciplined person plus every patient I see reminds me to do my exercises.
If you have any queries, please consult a professional physiotherapist.