Your walk says a lot about you The next time you go in for a check-up, your doctor may ask you to take a walk.
No, he’s not kicking you out of his office. He just may want to check out your gait. There’s some evidence that walking and balance issues could be early predictors of non-Alzheimer’s dementia.
These problems can be related to leukoaraiosis, the changes in your brain’s white matter that occur as you age. A recent study emphasizes that leukoaraiosis can affect your ability to walk and keep your balance.
The study recruited 639 people, ages 65 to 84. Each person had their gait and balance analyzed. Also, they had a brain scan to measure their white matter. According to the results of these scans, 284 participants had mild changes to their white matter, 197 had moderate, and 158 had more severe changes.
There was a correlation discovered between more severe leukoaraiosis and lower scores on the gait and balance tests. Participants were twice as likely to have difficulty in those areas and to have had a few spills already under their belts. And those with a little less severe white matter change were 1.5 times more likely to have experienced some falls.
This is why taking a walk, in front of your doctor, is a good idea—even if he doesn’t suggest it to you first.
As you know, a fall for us older folks can be deadly. But there’s no need to give up and feel helpless. The study authors say the best thing you can do is to exercise. They theorize that physical activity improves both walking and balance—and this is the next arm of their study that they’ll be focusing on.
It’s the same recommendation I give to every senior that walks into my office. One of the most overlooked reasons for most falls is having weak muscles.
