Senior Citizen

It's unanimous.

It's a boring answer and you're going to see it often, but exercising is one thing we should do to feel better and think sharper as we all get older. Even with pain, you can always find simple exercises where you only need to get moving. Put on the oldies radio station and get dancing!

I'd also add -- keep busy. Do puzzles, talk on the phone, write to forums, meet new people and use your mind to keep many age related problems away.

Get a hobby and find time and money to actually do it. It's amazing how new hobbies can make your world new and interesting and can calm pain as you get creative.

One more thing, help others. It's something that is needed in the world today and spiritually it will help you as you physically help others.

Thanks for posting this question! It made me think.
 

I, too, suffer from chronic pain due to a neck injury years ago.

If you have a good doctor that will treat your pain aggressively, don't mess with "natural" remedies. They take too long to build up to a therapeutic level.

Why?

Because pain that lasts a long time will change the chemical make up of your synapses which are directly involved with sending messages to your brain. The longer pain lasts, the less likely you will be able to treat it effectively.

Only do that which you have energy for. fatigue can make pain worse, contrary to what many will tell you. Easy walks are really good but brisk walks can be counterproductive.

Have you found any support groups online?

I'd have to ditto on the exercise part. I find that though it may be painful at first, the long term bennies for outweigh any pain now.

I am a huge advocate of healing the body naturally. Diet can make a big difference in how you feel.

What type of pain are you having?

I'd say get pain killers from your doctor if you really need them. They should help the pain go away. Also, try exercising more if you don't already. Don't sit in bed all day, keep yourself occupied!

The answer really lies in the question do you ever exercise? I have found that workout, even a little bit can cause you feel tons better. You just have to find something that is right for you. Even if all you do is walk a few hours a day.

I'm not quite a senior citizen yet but will be in a few years but I do have severe arthritis in both knees. It's very hard for me to walk even in the house and I can't walk up any steps. It's a struggle for me to go out shopping, to the bank and to run other chores I need to do.

First of all when I do go outside I walk slowly. I don't care if there are people behind me I just walk at the best rated for me. I also lean on my shopping basket. I can't walk without it.

But I have noticed that as I walk my knees tend to loosen up a little and the pain is bearable. I know exercise helps the arthritis.

I also feel much older than I am because I can't walk and it makes me feel terrible but I still have things that have to be done so I force myself to go out no matter how bad my knees are and I don't allow myself to think about how old I feel.

I would think that the best thing is to get as active as your health allows you, and eat healthy. You can eat healthy at any age. The fitness is to just allow what your body will let you. I think the best thing for you would be yoga, because it's stretches. There's a dvd called "Yoga for the rest of us." It doesn't make you do really crazy poses or anything, and you can use the aid of a chair. It just helps you strengthen your core, and burn calories.