A lifelong routine of exercise has many benefits as you age. It’s good for your heart, bones and metabolism. Strength and endurance exercises also can help you maintain your independence.

Pat Rice thought she was on the right path to recover from a total knee replacement in November 2020. She wanted nothing more than to be out of pain and back to her regular routine.

While some may assume that rotator cuff injuries are most prevalent among athletes, shoulder pain is quite common among individuals after age 50 – and rotator cuff issues are the most frequent cause.

Joint pain can have a wide variety of causes. This can make it difficult to know when it is time to talk to a physician regarding pain you may be experiencing. Sometimes the joint pain can be from an acute injury. Sometimes the pain can be from a chronic ongoing condition with gradually increasing joint pain.

Patients who experience trouble with chronic wounds healing may be more vulnerable if they contract COVID-19. This is not due to the wounds themselves, but because of other underlying health conditions often associated with the chronic wounds. 

There’s never really a right time for us to discuss with our families what kind of medical care we want when we are nearing the end of our lives. Ideally, we’d like to be able to think clearly – at that time – and tell our doctors and our families what we want. But that’s not possible for everyone.