Dear LPG,  

By the time you get to retirement, you would think that you have learned a bit about most things that you own, but a recent chat with a few friends taught me about something that nearly all of us have, although I really did not know it.   

We were all sitting round a table with a morning cup of coffee and the subject of discussion was very general, but health-based, when there was one of those moments when all but one of us was enjoying a slurp of their drink at the very same moment.   

During the silence that the simultaneous intake of the wake-up juice created, the person without a cup at his mouth made an observation which seemed to come out of the blue to fill the lull in the conversation.    

At that moment, the only person able to talk happened to be an ex-physiotherapist who mentioned the fact that so many of us don’t pay attention to our gait as we get older.  I don’t know if you have ever had one of those moments where something is being talked about that you really don’t understand.  When that happens, you have a choice: you either nod in agreement with everyone else or plead utter ignorance and say that you don’t understand.  

On this occasion, he had a lot to say about the importance of having a healthy gait as we get older.  and how we can improve it.  I spent a few minutes wondering what I could do to improve mine.  My mental picture of it reminded me that it could do with a bit of paint, but it isn’t that bad.  But as he continued, I think that all the people around the table learned a new word of the day.   

He was not talking about garden gates, his focus was our gaits.  I think that he could see the blank looks on the rest of our faces as he explained that anyone who can walk has a ‘gait’ and we elders often let them deteriorate somewhat.  

He explained that your gait is the way that you walk and we older people often have one that could do with a little improvement.  It includes every aspect of the action, and a little googling made it all a bit clearer once I got back to my laptop.  

A I explains that ‘A gait refers to the way a person walks, including the rhythm, speed, and style of movement. It involves coordination between the brain, muscles, joints, and nervous system. Everyone has a gait, though it can vary widely depending on age, health, and physical condition.’ 


It was a good thing that we were only drinking Coffee because, when  the knowledgeable  member of the group realised that we did not really understand what he was talking about,  he got us all to walk a few steps down the street while he took a picture of us doing it and it is surprising how much the way we think we walk differs  from the way we actually do, when   you take a look at a short video of yourself  in action.   

He showed us a few things we can do to improve the way our legs carry us through life and, I don’t know about the others but I find myself having a go and being a little more critical about how my legs do that very important job.  

Not only do I have a gate that could do with a lick of paint at the end of my front garden path,  but I have a full-length mirror at the end of my upstairs hallway and now,  I find myself looking at the way I walk towards it much more critically since that little chat.  

Having made the rest of us very aware of how our gaits were not looking the best, he suggested a few exercises to practice in a bid to improve them a bit, and I found a few demonstrated on the internet.   

I thought that my experience should be passed on and shared; thus my message today…  

FB, Sydenham  
 

 

 

FB found us a few exercises that might improve a gait or two while LPG repeats that all-important suggestion, ‘Don’t try this alone’ or at least don’t try any balancing exercise unless someone is watching just in case you overbalance...

 

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