{"id":76810,"date":"2022-08-14T19:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T23:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=76810"},"modified":"2022-08-26T12:54:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T16:54:59","slug":"aging-frailty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aging-frailty\/","title":{"rendered":"Frailty Due to Aging: Why We Should Manage (Not Cure) It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is frailty a normal part of aging? How can we ease the elderly’s burden of living with frailty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because more of us reach old age than ever before, we live longer with its frailty. Worn out from long use, our bones lose density, our skin thins, and our organs begin to malfunction. Accustomed to medicine\u2019s ability to restore our health, we aren’t prepared to live with these inevitable infirmities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why we should redirect our efforts to managing aging and frailty instead of attempting to cure the incurable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We Live With Frailty Longer but We Don\u2019t Manage It Well <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While modern advances help us avoid infection, disease, and accidents better than ever, they haven\u2019t stopped the natural aging process. According to Atul Gawande, the author of Being Mortal<\/em>, we usually deal with the symptoms of aging as if they can be reversed, but they can\u2019t. He argues that we need to accept the deterioration of the body as natural and focus on supporting <\/em>the elderly as they face limitations, not on curing<\/em> them of frailty and aging<\/strong>. Unfortunately, non-specialist physicians\u2014accustomed to curing <\/em>patients through medical interventions\u2014are usually the ones caring for the elderly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Gawande\u2019s observation echoes a case disability activists have been making for a long time. They\u2019ve argued that accessibility should be everyone\u2019s concern<\/a> because we\u2019ll all need it eventually: Half of all Americans over 75 have some form of physical or mental impairment that qualifies as a disability<\/em> under the Americans with Disabilities Act.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Gawande, these physicians often fail to address the everyday physical and emotional challenges of aging. They may focus on blood pressure fluctuations while overlooking poor hygiene caused by reduced flexibility or weight loss caused by loneliness. Gawande suggests that basic needs, such as the ability to get in the shower or enjoy a meal with loved ones, are more <\/em>critical to an old person\u2019s daily well-being than are the narrow medical issues most doctors focus on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: The basic needs<\/em> Gawande discusses are critical to an aspect of well-being experts call environmental mastery<\/em><\/a>\u2014the ability to navigate physical spaces and meet personal needs. Research increasingly shows that environmental mastery correlates to psychological well-being and that well-being correlates to healthier aging.<\/a> As Gawande suggests, then, it\u2019s important for caretakers to devote at least as much attention to the basic needs of the aged as they do to other medical issues.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geriatricians Are Needed but Uncommon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Geriatricians are medical specialists trained to support the elderly in this way, explains Gawande. These physicians are skilled at identifying the problems caused by aging\u2014for instance, the difficulties the elderly may have with hygiene, eating well, maintaining social contact, and controlling aches and pains. They can provide resources to make bathing easier or ensure the elderly are eating regularly. By closely watching and addressing these everyday problems, geriatricians help the elderly maintain their quality of life as their bodies age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the elderly often don\u2019t have access to geriatricians: Gawande laments the fact that the number of geriatricians has fallen despite the fact that the elderly population is growing<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In contrast to Gawande\u2019s point here, recent data indicates that the supply of geriatricians is growing and is projected to increase in the near future<\/a>. However, the supply <\/em>isn\u2019t keeping up with demand: The growth of the elderly population is far outpacing the growth of the geriatrician field<\/a>.)   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is frailty a normal part of aging? How can we ease the elderly’s burden of living with frailty? Because more of us reach old age than ever before, we live longer with its frailty. Worn out from long use, our bones lose density, our skin thins, and our organs begin to malfunction. Accustomed to medicine\u2019s ability to restore our health, we aren’t prepared to live with these inevitable infirmities.\u00a0 Here’s why we should redirect our efforts to managing aging and frailty instead of attempting to cure the incurable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,24],"tags":[728],"class_list":["post-76810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-society","tag-being-mortal","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nFrailty Due to Aging: Why We Should Manage (Not Cure) It - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Frailty is a common part of the aging process. 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