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Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

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21–30 of 93 posts

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#21
post #7

proprioception degrades with age, strength training is the counter. (from "younger next year")

Why strength training, instead of, say, ultimate frisbee or pickleball?

Pickleball has a disproportionately high injury rate for people over 40. You'd be far better off taking up the gym or yoga.

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#22
post #8

I walk slower and talk slower than I used to, and do both way slower than people I interact with. I can appreciate things better by moving slowly, with more intention, conserving my concentration and energy for matters of substance. Why must moving slowly be stigmatised? I am surrounded by people talking at such a high rate, they start responding before the other person's sentence or thought is completely expressed.…

Being mindful is great. The article is just saying it's a health indicator:

> So why does walking speed even matter? It’s considered an important indicator of overall health. A hale and hearty speed signifies that your body’s systems—including your heart, lungs, muscles and nervous system—are working well together. “We call it the sixth vital sign”

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#24
post #8

I walk slower and talk slower than I used to, and do both way slower than people I interact with. I can appreciate things better by moving slowly, with more intention, conserving my concentration and energy for matters of substance. Why must moving slowly be stigmatised? I am surrounded by people talking at such a high rate, they start responding before the other person's sentence or thought is completely expressed.…

> Why must moving slowly be stigmatized? Because, irrespective of your individual case, slowing down correlates strongly with ageing and diminished faculties.

https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#25
My mom is several years into Alzheimer’s and is at a point where she requires our help for nearly every daily task. She got a hearing aid put in last year and at the same time, she walks so slowly we often need to bring a wheelchair with us to get daily tasks done when she is around. There is definitely something going on here.

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#26
post #7

proprioception degrades with age, strength training is the counter. (from "younger next year")

Why strength training, instead of, say, ultimate frisbee or pickleball?

I always at least skim every fitness article in the ny times, and there seems to be a consensus that at least for old farts (like me), strength training at some level brings a variety of health benefits.

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#27

Are problems with the ear the cause of this (i.e., the Problem), or just another symptom of a broader problem? My impression from the article is the latter.

Seems like the obvious confounding factor is just aging: Old people have problems with hearing, and old people are also less likely to walk briskly. The subset of people with undiagnosed hearing problems probably aren't taking care of their health in general.

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#28
post #8

I walk slower and talk slower than I used to, and do both way slower than people I interact with. I can appreciate things better by moving slowly, with more intention, conserving my concentration and energy for matters of substance. Why must moving slowly be stigmatised? I am surrounded by people talking at such a high rate, they start responding before the other person's sentence or thought is completely expressed.…

> Why must moving slowly be stigmatised?

If you're quicker you can do more. I didn't have time to read the rest of your comment.

Re: Walking slower? Your ears, not your knees, might be the problem

#29
post #8

I walk slower and talk slower than I used to, and do both way slower than people I interact with. I can appreciate things better by moving slowly, with more intention, conserving my concentration and energy for matters of substance. Why must moving slowly be stigmatised? I am surrounded by people talking at such a high rate, they start responding before the other person's sentence or thought is completely expressed.…

I don't think it should be "stigmatized", but I will say that walking slow actually hurts me. I love museums, but that slow "museum walking" will leave my back feeling extremely sore by the end of the day.

I feel like even if I covered the same distance (or longer) walking quickly, it wouldn't be nearly as painful.

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