We are all getting older, day by day.

Far too often I hear patients focusing on the downside. “I guess my body is just packing it in” or “if I were the family pet I’d be put down!”  

It’s not all negative, there are some blessings you acquire as your life progresses.

With age comes wisdom, financial stability, and most importantly, time to pursue the dreams that always seemed a little too time demanding.

It’s the trip to Europe or picking up a hobby like painting or even writing a novel.

Life changes like retirement and empty nesting can decrease time-demanding responsibilities, bringing these dreams within reach and providing extra time to look after our body, mind and soul.

I will not argue that our body is not in its greatest shape as we become older, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t improve.

The better shape our body is in the more we can enjoy some of this new-found spare time.

Just like anything in this world, over time our body wears.

The natural process of the body slowly degenerating is more commonly known as osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is not a terrible thing.

Our bodies are a lot smarter than what we give them credit for.

It is the body’s subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) way of letting us know that we can’t do the things we used to do in our ‘20s, and that we may need to modify some activities.

It can limit some joint movements, which if you look at in some ways, has a protective function. These restrictions can help limit further damage.

You can work with your body’s natural ageing functions to continue to get the most out of life.

I believe the number one priority is to keep active.

Keep moving.

Stay active.

Do not stop.

The benefits of maintaining an active lifestyle include:

Staying active is very important, but we must keep in mind that our bodies will let us know that the activity should be appropriate.

Signing up with the local football team the week before your 70th  birthday isn’t ideal.

We need to accommodate our more mature body with more mature activities.

If you want to keep the competitive flame alive, you can put your best up against others in sports such as tennis, golf, lawn bowls and swimming.

For those who prefer to go at their own pace there are many other activities such as bushwalking (and why not in a beautiful setting such as ours), aqua aerobics, Pilates and yoga classes or something as simple as being out in the garden.

Now, in no way am I saying that keeping active will keep the aches and pains away.

They are unfortunately a part of life and nobody is an exception. Nobody.

But staying active will keep you in far better condition to deal with the aches and pains, and you will be better off in the grand scheme of things.

However, in the short term you may even find keeping active will flare up some niggles and twinges.

The good news is there are also things we can do to manage these flare ups.

Heat is tremendous.

You and your body are intuitive so you probably find that you love a hot bath or shower when you aren’t feeling up to scratch.

Heat will increase blood flow into the area as well as help surrounding muscles relax.

Hot water bottles, wheat bags and in our modern day applicable heat patches, are ideal ways of keeping sore areas warm.

You can purchase heat patches that will stick to the underside of your clothing and last considerable amounts of time (12 hours plus). You can find these at most supermarkets and chemists.

The patches are preferable as they keep the area warm and you moving.

Combining heat with gentle movement is the perfect way of managing our pains.

There are a few exceptions to the rule. Icing is still important if there is any bruising or swelling at an injury, a rolled ankle for example.

Back and neck injuries will mostly respond best to heat.

Getting older isn’t the end of the world. It’s a marvellous opportunity to put some time into yourself so that you can enjoy the years ahead.

I see some very impressive octogenarians in private practice and the common trend among them is that they have maintained active lifestyles.

After all, it’s use it or lose it.