Olympics 2012 - why age doesn't matter!

There's no doubt about it, ranking third in the official medals table, Team GB is storming ahead at London 2012. We've got a clutch of golds, excelling in a number of different events - athletics, rowing, cycling, clay pigeon shooting, gymnastics - and a number of no-less worthy silvers and bronzes.

Obviously, any athlete will have dug deep and trained exceptionally hard for many months, if not years, in order to achieve these stupendous results. What impresses me are the 'older' athletes, who might  have been considered 'past it' or 'too old' to be a serious medal contender. Whilst 35 may not seem old to the majority of us, in the world of sports it would be seen as a serious hindrance. However, the likes of Chris Hoy (36), Greg Searle (40), Katherine Grainger (36), Mary King (51), Ben Aislie (35) and Beth Tweddle (27 - old for gymnastics!) have proved the ageist cynics wrong.

This Olympic performance is even more fitting in 2012 as it the European Year for Active Ageing. Emphasis is being placed on staying fit and active even as we get older, following the premise of 'use it or lose it'. The benefits of gentle, regular exercise (ok, maybe not to Olympic levels!) are well known - helping to keep the joints supple and the muscles strong, and improving the function of the cardiovascular system are just some of the more obvious ones.

I recognise the fact that I won't be making my debut at Rio 2016, even if I used to  be pretty quick over the 100m, and wasn't too bad at the high jump or long jump, and could hold my own as stroke in a lightweight pair. However, watching the Olympics has certainly inspired me to keep active - even if my knees are beginning to get a bit crunchy. Hopefully, some of my patients are similarly inspired and will realise that with a bit of TLC and loosening up on the chiropractic bench they might be able to stay fit and active for a little bit longer.

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