Pittwater Life April 2018 Issue

Health & Wellbeing
Health & Wellbeing
Now hear this
... and step up
to good health
While we are all generally
pretty good at monitoring
our heart health and keeping
an eye out for changes in
our sight and skin, two things
that take a pounding throughout
our lifetime – our feet
and our hearing – are often
neglected.
Foot care plays an important
role in keeping people…
well, on their feet.
Feet are made up of a
complex network of 28 bones,
33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19
muscles and tendons all working
in unison.
Yet although our feet are
quite possibly the most hardworking
part of our body they
are easily overlooked, said
podiatrist Mark Osborne of
Avalon Podiatry.
“Feet are the foundations
of our body and need to be
treated well to maintain good
health,” Mark said.
As we age, healthy feet
play a vital role in keeping the
whole body healthy.
“Walking is the best exercise
for both your feet and general
health – by maintaining good
mobility, your leg and foot
muscles will be strong, which
in turn helps the blood circulating,”
Mark said.
“When we don’t exercise,
our muscles become weak
and in the elderly this will lead
to a high risk of falls.”
The average person will
walk more than 128,000km
in their lifetime – that’s over
three times the circumference
of the earth.
Little wonder then our feet
become prone to problems.
In fact a recent survey
showed 60 per cent of females
and 32 per cent of males
over 65 were troubled by foot
problems.
“Painful and uncomfortable
feet are not a natural part
of growing old, nor are they
something you have to put up
with,” Mark said.
“Foot pain from bunions,
corns and callouses, thickened
toenails and heel pain are
all common foot complaints
treated by a podiatrist.
“Painful feet in the elderly
causes instability and interferes
with the normal foot
function and gait and is a
common reason that leads to
falls.”
Mark said when it comes to
foot pain, comfortable and appropriate
supportive footwear
was a good place to start.
“Often podiatrists will assess
the patient’s feet and recommend
treatments like padding,
strapping and orthotics
to improve foot function,
eliminate pain and return the
patient to their daily exercise
routines,” he said.
There is also increasing
evidence of the importance
of hearing to overall health,
especially as people age, says
audiologist Emma van Wanrooy
from Pittwater Hearing.
Emma said a recent study
from France found those people
reporting hearing problems
had an increased risk of
disability and dementia.
“In men, there was also a
link between poor hearing and
depression; however the same
links were not found in those
people wearing hearing aids,”
Emma said.
“This suggests that when
hearing loss is treated appropriately,
people are more likely
to remain socially active.”
The incidence of hearing
loss increased with age – up to
70 per cent of people over 70
had some degree of hearing
loss.
Emma, who has worked with
adults with acquired hearing
loss for two decades, said it
was quite typical for someone
who developed hearing loss
as they aged to delay doing
anything about their hearing
for 10 years.
“However, the new studies
linking hearing loss to dementia,
mobility and depression
provide good reasons why
everyone should take action
to ensure they hear as well as
possible as they get older,”
she said.
Emma has observed many
reasons why it was important
not to delay hearing assessments.
“A lot of the time people
don’t take action about their
hearing until they are experiencing
multiple health issues,
such as memory problems,
vision or mobility issues and
this can make managing their
hearing loss or a hearing aid a
lot harder,” she said.
“However, if they have worn
hearing aids before these
other health issues arise, then
managing the hearing loss
is already second nature to
them.”
Emma recommends regular
hearing assessments because
“hearing loss sneaks up on
you gradually and often
people don’t notice it until
communication is significantly
affected.” – Lisa Offord
50 APRIL 2018
The Local Voice Since 1991