#180 Staying Strong: Tips to Preserve Muscle Strength with Age.

As we age, we lose muscle mass; this is called sarcopenia. The consequences of sarcopenia can be devastating, like increased risks of falls, reduced physical capacity, disability, depression, less participation in societal activities, and less enjoyment of life.
In 2016, the International Classification of Diseases, or ICD version 10, officially recognized sarcopenia as a disease. It is a condition characterized by loss of muscle mass and function with age. The world population is getting older and older, which is a fabulous thing, but then more people are seeking medical care because of the consequences of sarcopenia.

In this video, Dr. Furlan answers questions about sarcopenia, an age-related disease that leads to muscle loss:

00:00 Introduction
01:35 First sign of sarcopenia
02:27 Second sign of sarcopenia
03:02 Third sign of sarcopenia
03:25 Fourth sign of sarcopenia
03:50 Can a doctor diagnose sarcopenia?
05:26 Can sarcopenia be prevented?
07:54 Regular exercises to prevent sarcopenia
08:26 Maintain adequate protein intake
09:40 Avoid sedentary lifestyle
10:14 Stay hydrated to prevent sarcopenia
10:39 Get sufficient sleep
11:12 Can we revert sarcopenia?
13:55 How can you support someone with sarcopenia?

Dr. Furlan is a pain specialist in Toronto Canada. She is a physiatrist (specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation). She holds a medical degree from the University of Sao Paulo and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto. She has 30 years of experience helping people with chronic pain to get better quality of life.

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ALERT: This video is not intended to replace medical advice. If you think you have a condition that is causing you pain, please consult with your doctor to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan for you. The intent of this video is only for educational purposes. If there is any emergency, go to the nearest emergency department or call an ambulance. CLOSED CAPTIONS in this video have not been professionally verified.
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[daves]

Getting older, not old. I’ve been exercising since my mid 40s and I’m 67 now ~ my high school friends are all breaking down and I’m still doing very well. Quality of life is better when you stay in shape

[Gpacharlie]

Chronic pain, poorly understood and poorly treated took a real toll in my 50’s.
In my 60’s and for 6 years now I am fighting back, now that I understand this pain affliction better. Walking, lose weight over time (slow and steady), to your ideal weight, dumbbells and body weight movement exercises, healthy food, drink water, and get good sleep.
Get down to the floor and back up with no aids, often.
It’s 10 X harder to do this with chronic pain but it is absolutely necessary.

[Hippy]

I am very active all my life since a young kid I started swimming daily and practiced tennis 3 days a week. Now at 71 still swimming but 4/7 and lap swim 40 minutes each time, and brisk walk 2 hours daily for decades. Eat a lot of lean protein and 16 hours fasting daily. Last year during my walk at night i felt a couple times really badly, bled and hurt my knees and arms for several weeks but nothing broken. My doctor told me my muscles saved me from broken bones falling. I still have scars visible and bruises but that did not stop me from walking and swimming like nothing happened. I also tale collagen peptides and make my own bone broth from grassfed shanks. People think i am wearing a wig, and I drive daytime without wearing glasses. There are the day up and down but overall i feel good most of the days and lot energy hiking all day in the mountains and enjoying so much of it
Exercise, being active, keep the day busy, have good nutritious diets and you should be happy and sleep well at night like a toddler.

[cyclingonplants]

I'm a 60 y/o femaile cyclist but was concerned about my muscles in my upper body so for the last 6 months I have been training with dumbbells in my own home 3x a week for sessions of 30 to 40 minutes. I work the whole body using supersets to save time and use progressive overload principles. I recently got an InBody scan and since I have had these in the past i was able to do some comparisons. I have gained 5 lbs of muscle in these last 6 months. I eat a mostly whole food plant based diet and did not change anything with that. I'm 5'9 and weight 150 lbs. I ate about 60 to 80 grams of protein per day. It can be done folks!! I'm well pleased with this result and although I realize that muscle gain rate will taper off now, I can still work to gain more and keep what I have by continuing with the weight training.

[Positively]

I do squats everyday plus weights as well as play racquet sports. This helps me tremendously. The squats are my most important exercise which you will need to get up and out of chairs, bed and cars.

[linhill]

I have noticed a consistent reduction in muscle strength over the last decade, but more soon the last 2 years. I am now in my 6th decade of life. I truly appreciated this video content in explaining the probable cause of this weakness. Thank you for this video and the free brochure to use as a guide to change/improve my physical condition. Lin H.

[debradawson]

Dr. Furlan, thank you for this information. A couple of years ago, I read over my primary care physician’s summary of our annual visit and for the first time noticed a diagnosis of sarcopenia. There was no discussion. I am a 69 year old female and have noticed a concerning loss of strength. My husband has numerous chronic conditions and at times, I need to take on more responsibilities. This has been difficult for me. While I do eat plenty of protein in a very nutritious diet, I fall short on the other recommendations. Your informational steps give me a pathway to improve my muscle strength and I plan to share this entire video with my three daughters. Thanks again.

[devakumarrekha]

Thank you DrAndreaFurlanMadam., I have been wasting money and also my health by eating lot of rice since I hail from India. Indian dr. just giving multivitamin and other cholesterol tablet which is mere waste, nothing to do with high triglyceride levels. Even though I pay regular fees, they didn’t have sympathy / curtesy to advise me to take egg to overcome my osteoarthritis issue. Only you DrAndreaFurlan madam, really saved my life by making me to catch trains by sprinting nowadays. I am taking 4to 5 eggs per day by completely avoiding carbs and also taking some vegetables & fruit for fibre . Unlike all Europeans who speak English with different style, this make me to understand bit difficult. But Madam, your English is very beautiful like you.
Once again Thank you DrAndreaFurlanMadam.

[chriselfyn]

A very useful video. Thank you. I'm in my mid 70s and realised that I was spending too much time being inactive in the winter months. The result was a gradual weight gain. I bought myself a cheap treadmill (£200.00 here in the UK) and combined it with a smart watch to track activity. My watch beeps at me when I've been inactive for half an hour and I get up and do a ten minute brisk walk on my treadmill. Spread over the day, it's easy to clock up your 10, 000 steps. I've now started to combine a bit of resistance training as part of my 'exercise snacks'
As you can guess I'm losing fat and gaining muscle and feeling an all round improvement in my fitness. In the light of experience, I'd probably spend a bit more on the treadmill and get one with an incline function so that as I got fitter, I could increase the challenge,
Avoid the very cheap under the desk treadmills that don't have handles because in the first week or so of using it, you need the handles to get used to it.
Hope this helps!

[CW-nkvd]

Remember to do neck exercises, sit ups, for abdomen and stomach, exercising, and toe ankle push-ups.

[lance]

your advice is excellent It should be followed and the earlier the better. Never heard of sarcopenia but common knowledge we get weaker as we age. It is also common sense that regular exercise is the only true way to slow the decline. I only started regular exercise when I was 59 and it kept me healthy and strong, never broke a bone or spent a night in a hospital. Now am 80 and decided to double down and do strength training/rowing 1 hour every day. I am too old to stop although can only pull myself up from hanging overhead bar 4 time whereas I could do that 12 time when I was 70.

[ushavaideeswaran]

Thank you so much. Never heard of sarcopenia before. Am 68 with multiple chronic issues but did not fight it. Going to start tiny steps to get better so less responsibility and worry for my wonderful family

[kristensorensen]

Having a life habit of regular weight training starting at age 18 has helped me to maintain physical strength at age 68. I still swim 30-40 minutes 2-4 times per week to maintain a good BMI and the strength I need for a happy life!!❤

[barbaradewey]

I am 72 and notice a definite decline in my strength and stamina. Most of my life Ive treated exercise in a manner similar to dieting. All or nothing. Waffling from exercising every day to doing nothing. I've finally learned that it's better to start off slow and be consistent. Gradually working up to a sustainable level. This is the only way I am able to think of exercise as enjoyable rather than another "chore" that needs to be done. Thanks to your informative video Im encouraged to keep moving and healthy.

[e.miller]

In my late seventies, I decided 50 years of obesity was too long. I went on a vegan diet with low fat and near zero refined carbs and 12 hours fasting per day. After losing 30 pounds, I was trying to gain muscle using a strength building device without success. When poking around on YoTube I discovered two important comments. We need more protein as seniors than younger people of the same size because we no longer make enough hormones. We need hormones to grow muscle. You can't easily produce hormones without saturated fat like butter or suet. I now daily eat 1-2 tablespoons of butter and fat meat and am feeling stronge at 81. Please ignore the idiocy you have heard about saturated fat. It is the polyunsaturated oils that are the problem. I have no interest in the carnivore diet, but I think everyone should look at some of their videos to learn new information about diet.

[dilipbothara]

One of the best video I have seen.
Thanks

[gmistymisty]

my sincere thanks for making and presenting in an easy to follow video . As I am experiencing Muscle strength loss, your video will help me focus on a number of issues late in life.

[ramalingamkannappan]

I keep forwarding this video every now and then to whoever possible maximum.

[euniceh]

My husband has just been diognosed with severe nerve deterioration his hands and he is now been assessed as high moderate to severe risk of falls due to muscle loss. Fortunately we live in Australia. He is getting great medical attention under our Medicare system.

[DG-mokr]

I like videos with details and suggestions to help the problem which you have done here. Thank you for the info. I’m 63 and I work hard on my diet, resistance training with bands and walk as much as I can. I think it really helps compared to others my age.