Sophia Loren's warning from the future
Let's listen to big sis' lesson
Just in from Switzerland
This beauty from classic Hollywood made the news this week with an all too common, but unfortunate, accident.
Perhaps you’ve heard these facts about this injury before?
25% of those who experience it will die within a year.
50% will never recover from this injury.
And a shocking 300,000 Americans experienced this injury last year. (reference for fact checkers)
The Dreaded Broken Hip
Given Sophia Loren is 89 years old, you may not be surprised that a bathroom fall has resulted in a hip fracture. Here at Project 100, we certainly hope that Sophia beats the odds and we send her our well wishes.
We also will try to learn something from this!
You may be surprised to know that a study came out this year that shows distinctive differences between early human hips and those we shake today.
To underscore the point made last week about squatting to use the toilet: other studies have revealed that Chinese and Gambian people (where deep squats are a common shape to get into) are less likely to fracture their hips!
So What Can We Do?
Since lots of us are experienced communicators, we know that a message needs to be seen more than once to elicit a result.
Our first possible line of defense? Let’s all think hard about replacing what we have been conditioned to think of as a toilet with a squat toilet. It’s going on my dream house vision board!
But I know home renovations are a big ask
What else can we do right now?
Let’s Build Strong Femoral Necks
These three exercises are waaaayyy easier than taking a sledge hammer into the bathroom.
And the sooner you start, the better. Peak bone density is achieved in our 20s.
It’s VERY difficult to reverse bone loss once we’re already older, but exercises like these can postpone further bone loss in our femur necks.
Grab a Medicine Ball
This first exercise is a lunge. Hold the medicine ball in both hands. Reach forward as you lunge, pausing for a full three seconds at the furthest point. Go for three sets of ten with each lead foot.
Before You Get Out of Bed
On the edge of your bed or a weight bench, lie on your side resting your head on your bicep. Keep your top leg straight and use it as a kickstand of support. Pull your bottom leg up so the knee is bent in a 90 degree angle and your knee and foot are off the bench. Wag that foot down toward the floor and back up. Go for three sets of ten on each side.
Use a Bottom Step
Got some stairs at home? And a small barbell? This one is great on the bottom step.
Hold on to the railing with one hand and a small weight in the other.
Plant one foot on the step. With the other foot, hover then step back toward the railing side of the body as you bend forward at the waist, reaching the weight toward the floor without touching. Again, three sets of ten on each side.
Let us know if you give any of these a try.