Are having stairs in your home good for your health?

[burritos]

Weight-bearing exercises make osteoarthritis worse, not better. And not everybody with mobility problems is dealing with a joint issue. Balance issues can also cause problems with stairs.

You may not want to accept reality, but your physical capacities WILL decline with age. The degree of decline varies from person to person, but it happens to everybody. Exercise, while it is good for us, is not the fountain of youth.

I know everyone is different. But using your expertise/opinion/law of averages can you proffer a general guessitmate at what age is the event horizon when age related pathophysiological decline is a certainty?

[Hank]

Can we all at least agree that split level houses were a terrible idea?

[Anne]

Weight-bearing exercises make osteoarthritis worse, not better. And not everybody with mobility problems is dealing with a joint issue. Balance issues can also cause problems with stairs.

You may not want to accept reality, but your physical capacities WILL decline with age. The degree of decline varies from person to person, but it happens to everybody. Exercise, while it is good for us, is not the fountain of youth.

So I usually agree with you, but your first paragraph is untrue. Plenty of studies show improvement in OA with regards to function and pain with weight bearing exercise. Plus, exercise also helps balance!

Not everyone who exercises will grow old gracefully. But if one does not exercise, there is a very low chance that they will age well. There is no such thing as a fountain of youth, but as my dad likes to say “once you stop exercising, that’s when they start digging the hole”

[Max Power]

Everyone has a plan until they fall and get a hip fracture?

Yes, I see it at work at least weekly... fall down stairs and concussion, fracture, contusions, etc.

If you have stairs inside or outside, put the clear or black or whatever type of sandpaper grip tape strips onto them.

I myself had a biceps insertion tendon partial rupture from slip down wood stairs wearing socks during med school (tried to catch and stop myself from sliding down the stairs with the arm). I was fortunate it didn't need surgery.

The common sense thing is to simply have a dog to walk or just take walks daily, hikes on weekends, gym regular, etc. Have an active-minded partner and social group. Use a stand-up desk. Take lunch walks and get sunshine instead of loafing on the screen. Be active in any reasonable forms.

The setup of your home doesn't matter much... basement stairs, front porch or back deck stairs can all cause problems. Stairs in a multi-level house are more harm than good (and will also cost you more risk and $ and damage when moving).

[burritos]

Have you seen kneesovertoesguy?

backward sled pull and split squats. He makes a lot of sense

Because of him I do 10 full nordic hamstring curls a day(no pillows).

[pierre]

https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/knee-pain-stairs#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1

I know. Cherry picked and likely unconvincing to 99% of all knee pain sufferers. But could be true. But if it were true, it still would unconvincing and likely triggering to most westerners used to comfort.

Have you seen kneesovertoesguy?

backward sled pull and split squats. He makes a lot of sense

[burritos]

Weight-bearing exercises made osteoarthritis worse, not better. And not everybody with mobility problems is dealing with a joint issue. Balance issues can also cause problems with stairs.

You may not want to accept reality, but your physical capacities WILL decline with age. The degree of decline varies from person to person, but it happens to everybody. Exercise, while it is good for us, is not the fountain of youth.

Western medicine is the fountain of youth. That's why we spend 4 trillion on it a year. When adjusted to inflation, that's how much the Spanish empire funded Ponce de Leon.

[artemis]

https://www.healthline.com/health/pa...OC_TITLE_HDR_1



I know. Cherry picked and likely unconvincing to 99% of all knee pain sufferers. But could be true. But if it were true, it still would unconvincing and likely triggering to most westerners used to comfort.

Weight-bearing exercises make osteoarthritis worse, not better. And not everybody with mobility problems is dealing with a joint issue. Balance issues can also cause problems with stairs.

You may not want to accept reality, but your physical capacities WILL decline with age. The degree of decline varies from person to person, but it happens to everybody. Exercise, while it is good for us, is not the fountain of youth.

[burritos]

Well, there is a wide range of ability between needing caregivers to take care of personal hygiene and just not wanting to climb stairs because your knees hurt.

https://www.healthline.com/health/pain-relief/knee-pain-stairs#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1

Strengthening the knee is one way to prevent knee trouble and deal with a knee condition you already have. One exercise that’s simple to do is stair climbing.

I know. Cherry picked and likely unconvincing to 99% of all knee pain sufferers. But could be true. But if it were true, it still would unconvincing and likely triggering to most westerners used to comfort.

[burritos]

I agree. My thought was that instead of the solar panel law in CA this might be more useful for the citizens of USA. And I am somewhat pro climate.

It was just a musing.

Used to be pro climate. Now I'm ambivalent. And I have batteries, solar, 2 EV's, whole house fan, 3 composters, 5 rain barrels, and bike to work. But anyone not seeing the inevitable total release of fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere is demonstrating willful ignorance. I otoh am demonstrating willful acceptance.

[AR]

Just consider the downstairs as a studio. If you need caretakers to bath and wipe you I think privacy is kinda secondary.

Well, there is a wide range of ability between needing caregivers to take care of personal hygiene and just not wanting to climb stairs because your knees hurt.

[burritos]

One issue is a lack of doors. Our living room and dining room have large, open entry ways, so they really can't be converted unless someone actually built a wall and put in a door (which is possible).

Having said that, we actually did this. We converted the downstairs office to a bedroom (it's the guest bedroom now, the guests are mostly our parents). For some reason there was a nice 3/4 bath adjacent to it, but not a single bedroom on the entire first floor. So this was a very easy and logical conversion. We knew we were going to do it even before purchasing the house.

Just consider the downstairs as a studio. If you need caretakers to bath and wipe you I think privacy is kinda secondary.

[AR]

If you're in such a situation where you can't get up to the master bedroom, why not just stick a bed in the family room/living room/or some other big unused room downstairs room and convert it into a de facto bedroom. If you can't go up stairs, likely you won't be hosting any galas requiring these arbitrarily labeled social gathering rooms. And if there happens to be a gathering, let the able bodied people hang out up stairs.

One issue is a lack of doors. Our living room and dining room have large, open entry ways, so they really can't be converted unless someone actually built a wall and put in a door (which is possible).

Having said that, we actually did this. We converted the downstairs office to a bedroom (it's the guest bedroom now, the guests are mostly our parents). For some reason there was a nice 3/4 bath adjacent to it, but not a single bedroom on the entire first floor. So this was a very easy and logical conversion. We knew we were going to do it even before purchasing the house.

[artemis]

If you're in such a situation where you can't get up to the master bedroom, why not just stick a bed in the family room/living room/or some other big unused room downstairs room and convert it into a de facto bedroom.

That’s a good solution if there is a bathroom on the first floor. Some houses, though (like the one I grew up in), don’t have a first floor bathroom. Fortunately, most newer houses do seem to have at least a half bath on the first floor.

[artemis]

This is my take on that situation, being in a similar situation with my own parents (who have no interest in moving, although also are probably in better condition than your friend’s parents): sure, an acute medical event or injury may force them to move at an inopportune time or to a suboptimal location compared to what they might choose right now. It will be stressful at that moment in time figuring it out (no need to get stressed prior to that as stress when nobody wants to take action is a waste), and they probably won’t be happy with it. Good chance at that point they will also be looking at AL or even a higher level of care. But they wanted to stay in their home for as long as possible, and they achieved that goal, rather than doing something they didn’t want to do for x number of years d/t a possibility that they might have to move under unpleasant circumstances at some point. It’s their choice. And while I agree that people get way too attached to their houses, the attachment reminds me of doctors getting way too attached to an inflated lifestyle and then continuing in a work environment they aren’t happy with in order to maintain that lifestyle. The best decision is often to make a change but change is hard for people, and you have to let people make their own choices, even when they are close to you and it’s painful to watch them suffer.

What’s frustrating about my friend’s situation is that apart from this one issue her parents are doing extremely well. They aren’t even close to needing assisted living, as they are both mentally sharp, can still drive, and can manage all ADLs including the housework and yard work. But her mother can no longer safely manage stairs, and unfortunately lives in a house that is inherently Stair City. If they relocated to a house where going up and down stairs wasn’t necessary, they could probably live independently for many years to come. But they don’t want to move, and of course my friend can’t force the issue. All she can do is watch and keep her fingers crossed.