Aging and Disability, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This paper examines varying concepts of motor skill performance within the context of biology and will address the issues of how organismic changes associated with aging acts as a constraint to motor performance. This document will provide descriptive details on how older adults and seniors experience variations in motor skills due to aging. Finally, this paper will discuss how they must learn to incorporate variations in performance to compensate for the constraints they suffer due to age and disability.

Introduction

“The United States population aged 65 and over is expected to double in size within the next 25 years. By 2030, almost one out of every five Americans — some 72 million people — will be 65 years or older. The age group 85 and older is now the fastest-growing segment of the US population” (Health News 2006). Although research indicates that people are living longer and healthier lives, there remains a great deal of research in learning more about how aging and motor skill development changes over time. This includes analyzing the variations of movement patterns of older adults and how seniors compensate for those physical movements that have declined over time. Today’s research, as it relates to physical aging, places a primary focus on functional and exercise related tasks. This is essentially due to growing statistics which indicate that older adults are much healthier today because of increased physical activity and healthier lifestyles. For example, research shows that older Americans with disabilities declined significantly from 26.2 percent in 1982 to 19.7 percent in 1999 (Health News, 2006).

Balance/Postural Control/Walking as a Rate Limiter

Walking is the primary function for seniors and the challenge with older adults is their ability to maintain their equilibrium during this activity. Walking, bending over and standing in place require variations in dynamics in older adults since their physical functionalities decline with aging.  This has had a profound impact on the aging population and many seniors are attempting to combat these physical impediments through exercise during their younger as well as older years. As a result, more seniors can be observed today engaging in sports and exercise programs than ever before.

Another important aspect related to balance and postural control in seniors is the changes in the nervous system that occur during later years. Older adults often compensate for their lack of stability and balance during walking and standing by developing a more rigid and guarded stance. This is often referred to as a proactive control mechanism that helps the body control and maintains itself in the event of a potential slip or fall (Williams, 1988). On the contrary, some older adult may take on a lighter tread with smaller steps in order to limit the force in walking.  As a result, older individuals must adapt movement patterns and behaviors in response to environmental conditions which also declines (C. Jessie Jones, 2004).

Strength/Endurance/Speed as a rate Limiter

While variations in strength and endurance are commonly associated with gender, there are also age-related declinations of muscle strength and endurance with the elderly. Lack of muscle strength, body mass, physical activity and cognition in the aging are all factors which impact the strength and endurance of elderly people. After retirement or the inability to work, seniors take on a more serene life in their older years, which in turns affects their physical activity levels. Consequently, muscle mass is loss and physical strength and endurance debilitates.

Additionally, environmental conditions that impose a more sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of obesity and other ailments as individuals increase in age. For example, the rate of fat increases which leads to progressive loss of muscle tone and mineral content in the bone tissue. The sedentary senior lifestyle can also lead to a loss of mobility in the articulation of the lower limbs. Loss of mobility also increases the risk of type II diabetes in the elderly, principally a result of increased obesity and lack of exercise.  Even more impactful to the aging is the fact that all of these factors increase the risk of falls, fractures, cognitive inabilities, depression and an overall damaging impact to their quality: “Impaired mobility, whether self or other-imposed, places the elderly at risk for a multitude of negative physiological and psychological consequences that can affect health, well-being, and quality of life” (Nurs, 1991).

Flexibility as a Rate Limiter

“This is a common trait of elders who feel that errors are more detrimental to quality performance than reduced speed. It is hoped that the use of cognitive strategies by older performers will enable them to be more efficient in feeling more comfortable and perform at maximal efficiency under a variety of environmental conditions”  (Ashel Mark H, 1985).  The elderly learn motor skills more readily when they have adequate time to respond to stimulus.  This is often improved by self-regulated exercises as opposed to those imposed by external sources. Although stiffness can occur due to a lifetime of abuse and negligence, inflexibility can also occur due to a lack of regular movements and motions. In order to maintain flexibility, the skeleton must have a consistent range of motions. If not, muscles, tendons and the cartilage will become dense and inflexible. Senior citizens often limit their physical movements due to fear of falling, a limited need to move around or due to depression and illnesses.

Cognitive Factors as a Rate Limiter

Seniors struggle with complex cognitive tasks more than any other form of cognition. Tasks that require simple arranging or transitioning are less difficult. When seniors must perform tasks that require complex thinking and transforming, older adults tend to become confused, disoriented, discouraged and annoyed. Reasoning abilities are also limited with the aging. Beign confronted with too many options and selections may impede the thought process of an aging mind. When seniors are able to conduct consistent memory tasks and through provoking activities, activities as minimal as a crossword or puzzle, older adults are much more able to maintain a clear through process in developing sound decisions. Research shows that when seniors are able to make a voluntary decision about their reasoning process, success in this area is more likely. When seniors feel forced or are facing aggresion in making a sound decisions, seniors are more likely to lose their reasoning control due to the pressure. An exmple of this is seen everyday where seniors have been tricked into giving up their personal information as well as money. Much of this occurs when seniors are deceitfully approached very quickly and with high demands that could result in lose of home, danger to family members or utilities are facing termination.

Perception as a Rate Limiter

Living in a society where individuals strive to be forever young, seniors often face an uphill battling in maintaining their self worth and personal happiness. As with most all people, individuals perceive their health, safety, self worth and success based on how others perceive them. Additionally, most people perceive their self worth based on their ability to care for themselves through personal independence. Older adults who lose their physical and mentally competence often view themselves negatively. Although aging is not an automatic death sentence, many seniors begin to mentally believe themselves to be worse off that they really are. As a result, individuals find solace in being alone or around those who are accepting of their condition.

Sociocultural Factors as a Rate Limiter

One of the greatest challenges to how older adults view themselves is the reinforcement of negative stereotypes as it relates to aging. When individuals of a certain group are faced with negative stereotypes and perception, they tend to not only believe these assumptions but they also feel increased stress and pressure to not reinforce them. As previously mentioned, although aging does not equal a death sentence, many older adults feel unwanted and no longer needed. Often times, emotions of feeling unwanted and unneeded stems from a loss of family and career. Additionally, due to a declination of physical and mental strength, older adults may feel and often are incompetent in doing the things that they did in their younger years.

Society is beginning to work diligently to remove the negative assumption about the old and aging. Television ads and print media are displaying the aging in a more positive life. Much of it has to do with the fact that more people are realizing, accepting while also fighting against the fact that age automatically brings on a change in mental and physical capabilities. Additionally, individuals are more aware of the fact that the way we view the aging today is the way they are likely to be viewed in their older years.  Most importantly, many of the aging are also fighting against this perception by becoming more active in and around their homes. This includes exercising at home, in the gym and with social groups.

Compensation

Older adults are able to compensate for motor disabilities in a number of different ways. For example:

1. By improved, awareness the older person can take measures and steps to assist themselves in motor deficiency problems.  Promoting health literacy is key to raising the level of understanding.
2. Organizing your environment in order to deal with your deficiencies helps to also compensate for deficiencies. For example: living on a ground floor apartment limits the need for stairs.  Ensuring that you are near friends and family to help may also serve as compensation to aging
3. Restorative nursing can help the patient to compensate for functional impairments by assisting the elderly in understanding what the aging individuals can and cannot do.  This helps with building self esteem and confidence and assists in optimizing the quality of life of the individual.
4. There are also devices that can be used to assist with mobility challenges. These range from standard wheel chairs, walkers to mobile scooters. Other more conventional devices include that of canes, walking sticks and crutches etc.

There is no doubt that the baby boomer aging population will provide a tremendous strain on the health care situation in both Europe and North America.  Since age is a high risk factor for dementia, the expansion of the aging population and thus the number of people suffering from dementia has momentous consequences for national care systems as well as a large economic impact.  A way to contain these costly effects is by helping older people to stay independent for as long as possible, implying that the elderly must not stop learning.”  (Tilborg, 2007).

References

Ashel, Mark H. (1985). Cognitive Strategies to Teach Motor Skills to Elderly Learners in Nursing Homes. | |. National Convention of the American Alliance of Health. Atlanta GA.

Bruin, J. S. (2009). A randomised controlled trial investigating motor skill training as a function of attentional focus in old age. BMC Geriatrics.

Harrison, Tom. (2006). Report: People Are Living Longer, Better in America. Retrieved April 30, 2010 from website: http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/0002152/53/

Jones, Jessie. (2004). Physical activity instruction of older adults . In D. J. C. Jessie

Jones, Physical activity instruction of older adults (pp. 280-284). Champaigne IL: Human Kinetics.

Nurs, J. G. (1991). Iatrogenesis in the elderly. Factors of immobility. PubMed , 5-11.

Pomeroy, V. (1993). The effect of physiotherapy input on mobility skills of elderly people with severe dementing illness. Clinical Rehabilitation Vol 7 No 2 , 163-170.

Speros, Carolyn I. (2009). More than Words: Promoting Health Literacy in Older Adults. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.

Tilborg, Halteren-van. (2007). Motor-Skill Learning in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review with an Eye to the Clinical Practice. Neuro psychology review , 203–212.

Willimczik, C. (2006). Motor plasticity in a juggling task in older adults—a developmental study. Age and Ageing Volume 35, Number 4 Pp. , 422-427.

Williams, K. A. (1988). Movement characteristics of older adults. University of North  Carolina , 29-33.