If you are hoping to avoid the bone, joint and muscle pain that can associated with ageing, it might be wise to exercise a lot harder and more often than previously believed.
According to a new study examining the data of 5,802 people aged 50 or more over ten years, only high levels of activity at least once a week – playing tennis, running, swimming, digging with a spade, or doing hard physical labour– appears to help ward off chronic musculoskeletal pain in the long-term.
The work led by Dr Nils Niederstrasser at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and published in PLOS ONE, found that just over 2,000 people suffered with musculoskeletal pain at the end of the ten-year period.
“It’s well known that pain tends to be more common as we age, so it’s vital we look at what might help prevent and reduce it,” he said.
“Any activity does help people stay well and feel better than not exercising, but mild exercise does not appear to have a long-term effect on the development of chronic pain.
“Activity needs to not only be vigorous; it needs to be done at least once a week.
“A person who cycles, for example, once a month and whose only other activity was light housework would still be classed as sedentary.”
Good to know.
