Title : Lifestyle approaches to prevent and manage disabilities
Abstract:
Over the last few decades, there has been an explosion in chronic lifestyle related diseases with a proportional increase in disability. It is not commonly appreciated and taught that many of these conditions are curable by making healthy lifestyle changes. While there are some environmental challenges that can only be avoided partially, there are many other aspects such as diet, exercise, sleep hygiene and screen time over which an individual has much better control. Good news is that it is never too late as many conditions are not just preventable, but also treatable, with cure or significant reversal or remission achieved through lifestyle changes.
After considering general principles of lifestyle medicine, the author will consider the available evidence for lifestyle management in a few common disabling conditions including osteoarthritis, dementia, degenerative brain diseases, neuropathies, cancer, metabolic diseases, etc.
Audience Take Away:
- Clinicians can benefit by improving their own health by adopting the right lifestyle!
- As patients would have already done some research in this area, clinicians will be able to have intelligent & informative discussions with them when considering their treatment options.
- These interventions go well together with other conventional approaches. For instance:
- Weight loss before & after joint replacement will minimize the operative morbidity and improve the longevity of the prosthesis
- Good lifestyle following coronary stenting is likely to prolong the effective stent life and improve the quality of life
- Appropriate lifestyle modifications before, during and after cancer treatments improves quality of life, reduce the stress & depression as well as prolong the life in many patients.
