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New fingers for old
Hip and knee replacements are
everyday procedures, but who’s heard of finger joint replacements? They do exist but
don’t work very well. Soon that will change.
A new design for artificial finger joints is being researched in Durham. So far, five
patients have been given them – the first has had hers for two years – and the
outlook is good. Patients report increased hand strength and greater dexterity.
They’re still at the testing stage, but in the not too distant future, people with
rheumatoid arthritis of the hands could be letting their new fingers do the walking.
Computer buffs beware
If you’re male, around fifty, and an ex whiz-kid in the world of computers, you
could be suffering from cyberphobia. This 21st century disease, coined by Dutch
counsellor George Lotter, is a kind of mid-life male crisis caused by being left behind
while younger whiz-kids shoot up the career ladder (who presumably then become potential
victims of cyberphobia in a few years’ time).
Symptoms include paranoia over
younger men being promoted; mid-life physical changes like balding, flabby muscles,
erectile dysfunction; followed by depression, insomnia, fatigue, loss of libido.
And if victims decide to take action, it’s sure to be wrong. The syndrome is that
they join a gym, shave head, wear too-young clothes, go clubbing, upset their wives and
children, have an affair with a younger woman and lose their marriage, job or business
into the bargain.
In-flight safety precaution
Don’t want to frighten you, but around 2,500 people a year develop blood clots in
the leg as a result of long-haul flights. If the clots travel to the brain, they can be
fatal. Prevention being a lot better than cure, here are a couple of reminders about how
to prevent them.
For a start, keep moving. Horrible as it is to clamber past people
lolling about and snoring the hours away, it is important to get up and stretch your legs
every hour or so - you can even queue for the loo whether you need to go or not. Circling
ankles and wrists for a couple of minutes every hour (when you are sitting in your seat of
course) also helps.
For an even better stretch, breathe in, stretch arms above head, clasp hands and turn
palms to ceiling as you breathe out. Do the same stretch with arms raised in front at
shoulder level.
And if you have a family history of deep-vein thrombosis, doctors are now advising
that it wouldn’t hurt to take an aspirin on the day of travelling, which helps to
reduce likelihood of clotting.
Look Good, Feel
Great with Diana Moran
Diana Moran demonstrates how to keep fit using a series of simple routines
More
Exercise Beats Arthritis (Video and booklet)
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Sex for Oldies 
It’s a good
time to be over fifty, says Relate consultant, Marj Thoburn, co author of a book called The
Relate Guide to Loving in Later Life.
She sees us as society’s pleasure seekers (well, we knew that
anyway), and claims that we’ve thrown out ageist taboos and are intent on living life
to the full.
This liberation, she says, means that people reach their sexual peak when fifty-plus,
and not in their teens or twenties as they did in the bad old days. She doesn’t say
whether she has surfed the net for sexy talk in older chat rooms, but it certainly exists
and is no doubt very good for mental and physical health.
We also, apparently, yearn for intimacy and at last have the skills and understanding to
make relationships work. Makes you feel really sorry for the young.
Exercise - what's stopping you?
Excuse No. 3 & 4
‘I find all this emphasis on exercise
infantile and moralistic – it’s just an escape from facing the inevitable’
Being fatalistic is no more worthy than being moralistic or escapist.
Exercise doesn’t promise immortality. It just makes getting older more
comfortable. Most of us get stiffer and weaker with age, but exercise is the best known
way to slow down the process.
A 30-year-long study from Harvard showed that those who used up 2000 calories a week
in aerobic activity added 2.5 years to their life expectancy.
Exercise can also restore
lost muscle tone. An encouraging piece of evidence comes from a Boston, Massachusetts,
nursing home where volunteers aged 86-96 took up weight-lifting three times a week for 20
minutes over a period of eight weeks. (Yes, it’s true.)
Some of them ended up with 174% increase in leg muscle strength and a 9% gain in muscle
size. And they were able to throw away their walking aids too.
If in any doubt about any of the information
covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.
Index to all previous
Healthwise editions
Edition 3
One
thing you can’t leave at home when you go on holiday is any..................
Where have all
the minerals gone
The colours of
age
Exercise - what's stopping you? Excuse Number
2
The Relate
Guide to Loving in Later Life
This constructive guide to sex, loving and relationships for the 50-80s age group suggests
that life - and loving sex - begin at 50+.
 10
steps to energy
Tapping into high levels of energy through what you eat, think, feel, how you move and
relate to your life
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