What are the fitness equipment for the elderly?

Currently, there are fitness equipment on the market that has been proven to be relatively safe by a large number of elderly people. We often see space walkers, Tai Chi kneaders, push-pull machines, back massagers, and upper limb traction machines at community fitness centers. Those suitable for home use include low-resistance elliptical machines, fitness balls, and soft resistance bands. The remaining so-called "senior-specific" Internet celebrity equipment has a high probability of being tripped.

Speaking of traps, the fat-slinging machines and vibrating massage belts that have become popular in the past few years are typical controversial models. When I was doing popular science on fitness for the elderly in the community, I met several aunts who said that their children spent a lot of money to buy the fat-slinging machine. The attitude of the sports medicine community towards this type of passive exercise equipment has always been divided into two groups: one group believes that low-frequency vibration can help relax deep muscles and promote blood circulation, and is suitable for the elderly with relatively weak activity ability. ； Another group of people clearly pointed out that most elderly people have degenerative diseases in their lumbar and cervical vertebrae. Continuous high-frequency vibration can easily increase the pressure on the intervertebral discs and induce old diseases. There is no unified application standard so far, so be careful when choosing.

The community fitness center downstairs of my house is crowded with old men and women doing morning exercises every morning at around six o'clock. The most popular thing is the space walker. Many people stand on it and swing their legs as fast as they fly. They also think that the harder the exercise, the better. Last winter, an uncle Zhang swung too hard and stretched the synovial membrane of his hip joint. It took him half a month to get downstairs normally. In fact, the original design logic of this equipment is to simulate slow walking gait, allowing the lower limbs to move their joints and exercise leg muscles without bearing the pressure of body weight. The speed is about the same as walking at ordinary times. The effect is no worse than fast walking, and it does not hurt the knees. Many elderly people with bad knees walk slowly for 15 minutes a day, and their legs are much stronger after two or three months of persistence. The Tai Chi kneading machine next to it is also very popular with the elderly. The two disks are slowly rotated by holding them, which is similar to the movement of the cloud hand in Tai Chi. The three joints of the shoulder, elbow and wrist can be moved. For the elderly with frozen shoulder, it is more reliable than stretching for ten minutes a day. However, be careful not to compete with the old man to see who can rotate faster. In the past, an old man twisted his arm to win and strained his rotator cuff. The pain was not cured for several months.

If you don't like to join in the excitement downstairs and want to practice at home, the optional equipment is actually more flexible. When I was choosing household equipment for my mother last year, I did the homework for almost half a month. First of all, I ruled out treadmills - the pressure on the knees during running is 3 to 4 times the body weight. The joint cartilage of the elderly is already severely worn. If you step on it for half an hour, it may cause leg pain. Later, I tried several low-resistance elliptical machines. After setting them to the lowest setting, her knees didn’t hurt even after 20 minutes of riding on them, so she dared to buy one. She usually rides them while watching family ethics dramas, which allows her to move her body without getting bored. There are also those kind of ring-shaped soft resistance bands that cost more than ten yuan. I also bought two for her. She can wear them on her knees while sitting to practice abduction. It has especially improved the common problems of knee varus and knee pain when walking in middle-aged and elderly people. It is much more practical than buying IQ equipment that costs several thousand dollars.

In the final analysis, when choosing fitness equipment for the elderly, it is not really the more expensive the better, nor the more functions the better. The core factor is whether it matches the physical condition of the elderly. If you have basic diseases such as high blood pressure and joint damage, it is best to ask a doctor or professional fitness guide first. Don’t blindly follow the trend and buy Internet celebrity models. The money spent is a trivial matter, and the harm to the body will not be worth the loss.