Saturday, July 23, 2011

Is There a Cure for Alzheimer's (Aging)?

Back in the late '80s when I first got involved with the problems of the aging, disabled and terminally ill, I noticed that those with dementias (diminishing brain function) also characteristically did not move their heads as well -- and tended to sit and lie like rigid, unresponsive, immobile statues -- even lacking the muscular development that would support such movements anymore.

The atrophying of the muscles understandably indicate a lack of blood flow, while optimizing that flow, produces that robustness and dynamism in development (hypertrophy), whether one seeks to achieve that development or not -- and so it was clear to me, that unless one specifically designed exercises (movement) to that area, the blood flow would be diverted to areas that are actually in movement -- and one should not presume, that just because the heart is beating faster and harder, that flow is going throughout the body equally well.

Bodybuilders are acutely aware of that phenomenon -- and thus know, that if they want to develop their biceps, they have to perform exercises that are specifically effected by the biceps, deltoids, pectorals, etc. However beyond these conspicuous muscles -- they ignore the much more important and critical muscles where the human body distinctly has the poorest circulation (blood flow) at the extremities of the head, hands and feet -- where the human body ages most visibly and obviously as well -- as well known conditions of arthritis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and most unnoticeably, diminishing brain/cognitive function in all its various manifestations.

And so I determined that if exercise was indeed effective in producing and maintaining optimal development and functioning, the major "muscles" that should be developed as highest priorities for these effects, were the head, hands and feet more importantly than the currently popular preference for the "core" muscles -- including the heart, which should be obvious to even the least informed, always gets all the blood, and therefore, is least likely to suffer from that lack of circulation.

Obviously then, the lack (effectiveness) of circulation, should be measured at the extremities (head, hands, feet) -- and not the heart, which is the conventional/popular focus of that function, because it is simply the easiest thing to measure. However, it should be obvious to any researcher or thinking person, that the easiest thing to measure, is not necessarily the most important thing to measure.

But there are always a few people who make that important distinction -- and differentiate (discriminate) what is most important to consider. That is real science -- and not what most people think it is because someone has told them that is the truth -- because they are the "authorities" on such matters, as though that was the "scientific method," and the end of all knowing. The scientific method is discovering the truth of any matter for oneself -- independent but not ignorant of such "knowledge," which is never all that can be known -- however much any self-proclaimed expert may insist is so -- usually because they have been told by others as well -- or at least biased in that direction.

But unfortunately, that's what science (medicine) has become -- the organization and hierarchy of experts each protecting their own specialized knowledge (turf) without a disposition to see the whole, and how the parts relate to one another. And that's why there is the erroneous idea that the greater phenomenon of circulation is just what the heart does -- rather than the whole cardiovascular system, which includes the muscles, as well as every part of the body -- as more than the sum of its parts.

It is this fragmented and compartmentalized way of thinking, that is a great part of the problem in functioning in the later years of our lives when we are forced to live and think outside the box -- that is the particular and unique challenge of our times, and lives.

2 Comments:

At July 23, 2011 5:06 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

What I'm saying is that even most conventional activities like swimming, walking, running, bicycling, dance, etc.,, do not have these qualities of full range movement at the head, hands and feet specifically -- which cause them to atrophy despite what seems to be active lives.

A case in point is bicycling, in which despite obvious movement, there is no movement at the head and hands, and only a limited range of motion at the feet. When one articulates the fullest range of these movements -- at the neck, wrists, and ankles, something extraordinarily different occurs.

Most people don't even think they can make those movements -- or have even been advised not to. One of those researchers even told me that the head cannot be moved -- or shouldn't be, or one would suffer whiplash, or sprain one's wrists or ankles -- which doesn't occur when those areas move voluntarily through their greatest range of articulation (expression). Injuries occur when they're forced to move in those directions -- but not in voluntary muscle contractions.

That is most obvious in bicycling -- and running, when one's head remains in a fixed position throughout most of the duration, except to check for traffic. And no matter how far they run, their hands remain in a fixed position -- rather than articulating the fullest contraction alternated with the fullest relaxation, that can be safely done lying, sitting or standing specifically for that purpose.

That would be the proper warmup preceding any other activity -- or none, in which case, no further activity is required to maintain one's optimal health (readiness/fitness). But the traditional/conventional activities merely divert the flow to where there is expressed movement in that manner -- and not just because one gets their heart pumping faster and harder.

The flow has to be directed (allowed) to where there is actual movement -- which almost never occurs in most traditional/conventional fitness activities. That doesn't mean that one can't invent them for that purpose -- and that's all one needs to do.

 
At July 23, 2011 5:07 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

Just close your hand into a fist, and then using only the muscles of that hand, bend at the wrist at least 90 degrees in the direction of the forearm. Hold for a count and release back into the relaxed straight position. Repeat. Count for 50. That approximates the action of the heart as a pump.

Muscles that most people haven't seen before and thought they had, explode into view only when contracted in that way -- because the muscles have to contract to achieve (attain) that position. It doesn't require effort or resistance to bring about that contraction, but only knowing in what position (angle) the bodypart must be in to cause that contraction.

But no amount of simply closing one's fist and not bending at the wrist in this way -- while swinging the arm and hand from the shoulder (axis of rotation) as in running or walking, will produce the same effect -- of this very powerful and obvious muscle contraction. Even most instructors, don't know how to achieve it, because their understanding is that a lot of random activity, movements, effort, and wishful thinking, somehow produces a miraculous effect after a year of training with them -- rather than instantly, and then of course, with daily practice, they become better, and masters of their skill.

But it is a very simple understanding practiced and perfected -- that brings the body up to that level of operating condition -- that is usually suboptimal before then, but most people don't realize it because that's the way they always are -- functioning at a low level of capacity because they've never been taught how to get into a higher state, or even think that is possible. That's why athletes warm up before their best attempt. They would never expect that they just achieve a personal best on one attempt -- never having practiced or attempted one before.

Yet many people live their lives in that manner -- and wonder why everything goes wrong -- and think that is normal, if not ideal.

 

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