Hello to all our friends,

“Use it or lose it”, was a phrase I heard often during my life. Whether I was practicing a sport, singing in a choir, or learning in a classroom, the concept was quite clear. Whether it meant to strengthen my body, voice, or brain, I needed to use and practice whatever I was trying to improve or develop. Whatever coach or teacher I worked with, it was just a matter of time before I would hear “Use it or lose it”!

In my public high school of 3,600 kids, I played three sports, sang in advanced choir, and was president of classes and choir. In college at the University of Notre Dame, I walked onto the football team, sang in the Glee Club, (when I wasn’t sitting the bench in the fall), and studied science and theology. During those years as well, I would often hear the same phrase.

Currently, as a 69-year-old, I rarely hear young people use this phrase. It makes me wonder whether the concept may have been a fad of my time. Might this be one of those cliché conversation points that have slowly become irrelevant? The answer is no!

We all need to continue to be aware of our bodies and trying to create a balance. We need to find a way to balance our eating, exercising, relaxing and finding a way to serve the needs of others if we want to live a long active life, spending quality time with our family and friends.

I know I have been blessed with few physical challenges throughout my life. My past surgeries consist of a tonsillectomy, (which was common when I was a child), and an Achilles repair from a basketball injury. I have been sick but, as of yet, never seriously ill. I do want to point out that since I am a physical therapist, I have been personally committed to health for quite a while. I have tried to slowly create a balance between consistent exercise, weighing myself daily, watching my diet and how different foods affect my stomach and health. (My wife thinks I’m a little obsessive.) I have also been journalling my thoughts, feelings and activities since I graduated college, meditating since 2000, praying daily, and keeping in close contact with friends. I believe these are other forms that have helped me along the way and are part of the reason for my overall health. Obviously, family is paramount. Being a part of our family of 4 children and presently 8 grandchildren, along with my own 9 siblings and their children sometimes challenges my stress levels, but helps remind me that I am here on earth to strive to be loving, compassionate and forgiving to all I meet.

Where am I going with my original thought, “Use it or lose it”? I have noticed in my 40 years of working with injured people that we slowly lose this idea as we get into our 40’s and 50’s. I have worked with high school kids, who were active and healthy in their teens and college years. They were able to get away with eating whatever they wished and exercising whenever they chose. Their busy lifestyles and young healthy bodies kept them healthy. Unfortunately, as they hit their 40’s and 50’s, I began to hear their medical histories change. All of a sudden, they were up 10 or 20 pounds. They had high blood pressure medication and/or cholesterol medication, and some were pre-diabetic! In a matter of 10-20 years of a less active life and a possibly slower metabolism, the weight gain began and medications came to the rescue ( or the demise?) of their health.

I believe the key is to find a way to develop some kind of simple eating, exercising, and spiritual program that might help you begin to maintain and/or improve your physical, psychological and emotional state. As many of you might know from your own experience, allowing your health to be left up to your genetics alone creates major challenges as you age. Most of us would benefit greatly by educating ourselves about our health. As a result, we would than know not eating as well as we could, not exercising as well and not relaxing and addressing our need to read, journal and/or develop our spiritual lives can slowly cripple us and leave us in a great deal of pain as we age.

I realize there are outliers, like George Burns (for those who remember him), who could drink and smoke cigars and live to 100! However, he and those outliers are the exception. Some of us, if we do not choose to develop and follow through on a plan, end up on a walker or in a wheelchair, even in our 50’s and 60’s, which greatly affects our quality of life.

These words may seem insensitive if you are in a wheelchair or on a walker or in a bed, and you are only 60. Please know that I am not saying that we have total control of our health, but I am saying that there are steps we can take as we age that greatly increase our chances to have better health and quality of life. Also, I know you may be an exception and have done everything right and still have had major health issues.

For the majority of us, however, it will help us if we remember the timeless concept of “Use it or lose it”.

I hope you are having a joyful spring and counting your blessings along the way.

Enjoy the journey,

Fran McDonald President/CEO

Hyperkyphosis is a spinal deformity. It occurs when the natural forward-curving shape of the upper back becomes extreme. It leads to rounded shoulders with a head-forward posture (where the head and neck are forward of the trunk). People with this condition often have difficulty standing up straight. A worsening curvature increases the risk of health problems. These can include back and neck pain, spinal fractures, breathing difficulties, and falls.