Hi Drs and community,
I’m worried about my grandmother. She is 82 and has COPD, and is awaiting a CAT scan to learn whether she has pulmonary fibrosis. Such a diagnosis would be unsurprising as she has smoked most of her life. She was recently bedridden with pneumonia which escalated her symptoms. She is now on oxygen and is frequently short of breath when doing basic tasks.
My grandma has never been athletic or active or preventative in any way, despite being a retired nurse and hospital CEO. While she was bedridden, Dr. Baraki’s lectures on sarcopenia raced through my mind. If there is some case I could be making to help my grandma extend her life or improve its quality, I feel a duty to make it.
But is it really my place to persuade my grandma to strength train, even though I’m just a broscience layman who has no education about such medical matters? Would this be helping my grandma? If so, what materials can I supply to possibly help my grandma make an informed choice (and be convinced) to strength train?
Thank you for reading and apologies if this question is not actionable or appropriate for this forum. I’m admittedly a little lost on this issue.
Does she recognize that her condition is poor?
What does she know about exercise as it pertains to her medical conditions, health, and functional status? Does she know that it has the potential to help?
If she knows about the benefits, does she have any interest in doing it?
If not, why not?
Thank you Dr. Sorry for the delay.
She is aware that her breathing condition is poor, and perceives this as her main bottleneck. I don’t think she considers her strength to be poor, or a priority. Currently, she is regularly doing various breathing exercises, and some kind of seated overhead press with water bottles as weight.
I think you’ve hit on the core issue, which is that I’ve not articulated the benefits. For someone in her condition, I’m not sure what an appropriate program or goal — and there, the precise benefits — would be.
I predict that one blocker would be having to leave the house. She doesn’t like to do this because of anxiety about her oxygen, in addition to fatigue.
I would also have a battle of convincing my extended family, who are involved in my grandma’s care, and would be skeptical of my advice given that they know strength training is my hobby. They will presume that I “have a hammer and everything looks like a nail”.