Although Uncle Li is 70 years old this year, his physical fitness has always been good, and he will go downstairs and walk a few laps every morning.
But in the past few months, Uncle Li has been a little sluggish, because he feels that he may be really old, and he always feels that his legs are weak and he can't walk hard.
A few days ago, Uncle Li went downstairs for a walk on time, who knew that his legs suddenly became weak while walking, and he was about to fall, but fortunately he was supported by an acquaintance passing by.
The friend was concerned and said, "Lao Li, what's wrong with you, are you okay?"
Uncle Li slowed down, and said helplessly, "It's okay, it's just this leg recently, I feel soft when I get old, and walking is like stepping on cotton, I don't know what's wrong, it's probably really old!"
After hearing this, the old friend said thoughtfully: "Don't think too much, you can go to the hospital to check and see if it is caused by any lack of nutrition." ”
After listening to this, Uncle Li reminisced about it and felt that what his old friend said was also reasonable, so he hurriedly said goodbye, planning to go to the hospital as soon as possible to see what was wrong with him.
First, the elderly have sore and weak legs, and the triggers should be clarified
Ma Jianhua, chief physician of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery of Beijing Geriatric Hospital, said that there are many reasons for the soreness and weakness of the legs of the elderly, and it is necessary to investigate the causes in time, and give correction and treatment, so as to effectively prevent the occurrence of falls in the elderly.
1. Hypoglycemia
After the occurrence of hypoglycemia, patients often have sweating, paleness, soreness and weakness of legs, dizziness and other manifestations, and in severe cases, they may fall into a coma.
2. Cervical myelopathy
It is a kind of cervical spondylosis, and after the onset of the disease, patients may have weakness in the lower limbs, unsteady walking, fluttering legs, and even wrestling for no reason.
3. Lumbar canal stenosis
Intermittent claudication is its typical manifestation, mostly caused by degenerative lesions of the lumbar spine, so it doesn't take long to feel sore and weak and need to rest, be careful of lumbar spinal stenosis.
4. Stroke
Soreness and weakness in the legs are likely to be due to thrombosis, so be alert to stroke and seek medical examination and treatment in time.
5. Hypocymia
After hypokalemia, patients often have episodic muscle weakness, usually starting in the legs and progressing to the trunk and arms, requiring prompt potassium supplementation.
6. Malalacia patella
After the occurrence of this disease, the patient may have a sudden and sudden pain when walking, and the knee joint cannot flex on its own.
7. Parkinson's disease
It is a common degenerative disease of the central nervous system in middle-aged and elderly people, which can cause symptoms such as tremor, bradykinesia, muscle rigidity, muscle atrophy and even muscle weakness.
The elderly have soreness and weakness in the legs, which is often related to the disease, so it is not necessary to be careless when it appears, and it is necessary to investigate the cause of the disease in time and intervene symptomatically.
Second, people's old legs decay first, and people with strong legs can live longer
The importance of the legs to the human body is self-evident, we can think of it as the load-bearing wall of the human body, 50% of the bones and 50% of the muscles of the human body are on the two legs.
According to Japanese research, people with strong physical strength and fast walking have better overall physiological function and longer life, and they can regard strong leg muscles as one of the signs of longevity.
In this regard, Xu Daqi, deputy chief physician of the Department of Sports Medicine of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said: Good leg strength means that people's bones, muscles, softness, balance and other functions are better.
In addition, a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology also showed that strong thighs protect the heart.
The study, which included data from 1,053 patients with acute coronary syndromes with a median age of 67 years, found that after a mean follow-up of 4.4 years, the lower the risk of heart failure was associated with greater quadriceps isometric strength (a measure of thigh skeletal muscle strength), and that people with greater quadriceps isometric strength had a 48% lower risk of heart failure than those with less quadriceps isometric strength.
It can be seen that protecting the health of the legs has a positive effect on heart health and longevity, so you should pay more attention to it!
3. The elderly supplement 4 kinds of nutrients, and their legs and feet are stronger and stronger
Fu Juan, the attending physician of the Nutrition Department of Wuhan Third Hospital, said that due to age, various nutrients will also be lost, especially after the age of 65, so it is necessary to pay attention to supplementing nutrition at this time. Supplement these 4 nutrients more, and your legs and feet will be stronger and stronger!
1. Vitamin B1
The recommended intake is 1.4mg/day for men and 1.2mg/day for women, and you can eat more cereals, beans and dried fruits to supplement vitamin B1.
2. Vitamin D
The recommended intake is 15 μg (600 IU)/day, and you can eat more fish, animals, liver, eggs and other foods appropriately. At the same time, it can be properly exposed to the sun, which helps to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D and achieve the effect of vitamin D supplementation.
3. Calcium
The recommended intake is 800mg/day. With the increase of age, the calcium in the bones will gradually be lost, so the elderly should also pay attention to calcium supplementation, and can appropriately consume more dairy products every day, including pure milk, yogurt, cheese, milk powder, etc.
4. Protein
The recommended intake is 120~150g/day, many foods contain protein, so you can try to cover as many food types as possible, it is recommended to consume 40~50g of fish and shrimp, 40~50g of livestock and poultry meat, and 40~50g of eggs every day to prevent muscle loss and weakness.
In general, strong leg strength and longer life!So we should pay more attention to leg health, pay attention to supplementing various nutrients, protect our legs, and seek medical treatment in time if there is a problem!
Resources:
[1] "Leg soreness and weakness may have these triggers!", Health News.2022-11-22
[2] "Why can people who can live a long life, this place is very "rough"?especially after the age of 60!", Health Times .2024-01-09
[3] "The Most Vulnerable Nutrients for the Elderly: How to Supplement Through Diet?", Wuhan Third Hospital. 2023-12-13
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