South Hills Orthopaedics Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy

09/08/2026

If you are around 65, or have a parent, family member or friend who is, share this info with them. 4 easy tests PT's often do with those having difficulty walking and are at risk of a fall. A quick Google search of each will show you exactly how to perform, and the risk scores the person will obtain. These can all be done in 5 minutes. Some think that just using each test as an exercise will reduce their risk, but it only really just trains them to perform the test, not address the factors that lead them to fail the test in the first place, and those are what really need addressed....doing so will improve the score and lower the risk

Physical function after 65 can tell us something important about long-term health.

Researchers followed 13,423 adults aged 65 and older for about seven years. Compared with the lowest-performing group, the highest performers had a 59% lower risk of death on the 8-foot up-and-go test, 50% lower risk on one-leg balance, 45% lower risk on the 30-second chair stand, and 42% lower risk on the 2-minute step test. Those with the highest overall fitness scores had 61% lower mortality.

This was an observational study, so these tests do not prove that improving a score will extend life. They may also reflect underlying health that influences both physical performance and survival.

The practical point is that declining balance, mobility, leg strength, or endurance should not automatically be dismissed as normal aging. These are measurable aspects of physical function worth maintaining and, when they noticeably worsen, worth addressing through appropriate exercise and medical evaluation.

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.28227.

09/07/2026

There are 15 houses on my street. Since we moved in, 3 people have died due to falls, others have dealt with complications from falls. This doesn't count all the patients, gym folks and family who died from falls or complications of. We just learned here Friday that a sweety who turned 100 when we treated her has died at 104….from a fall. I'm not sure how many I have been able to sway to make the lifestyle changes needed to reduce this risk. Perhaps this info, letting people know how much it's gonna hit their pocket books and possibly devastate the family will change a few minds? And why would I be following Dr. Ed's page? Hmmmm -Duffy

09/01/2026

Ashley returned from maternity leave yesterday and arrived locked and loaded to point out every single mistake I made, and I loved it. One more month with my work besties together before Dora takes her leave. 2 awesome moms. -Duffy

08/30/2026

Your body, when it comes to developing strength/muscle and also maintaining it behaves like a child who needs constantly nagged to do his chores. Once your body can do the task, it's coasting time....no incentive to add more. Building muscle and keeping it takes lots of energy. It will stop, or even remove, given the first chance. Need proof? Come see an athlete's quad the day before knee surgery, and then 2 weeks later after being scoped. What took months to develop goes away in weeks. Humbling and frustrating. But we need to keep nagging (via challenging) the body steadily...nudging reps, weight, or even exercise form. -Duffy

08/25/2026

Sent by a follower as a post idea. It's really not that much time folks...especially with stats showing people are spending over 3 hours a day just watching TV....not counting phone screen time. If you sat and watched the 100+ people come through on an average day, I'd bet you would be kinda shocked and motivated to begin That's what keeps me going....seeing this every day I work. Then I go to the gym and see folks in their 70's, 80's working out and living life with quality, safety, and more ease. -Duffy

A 30-year study of over 147,000 people, tracked across three major health cohorts from 1992 to 2022, just pinpointed the exact “dose” of strength training that adds years to your life.

90 to 120 minutes a week. That’s only about 13 to 17 minutes a day.

In that range, people had a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause, a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 27% lower risk of dying from neurological disease.

And it gets better when you stack it: people who combined 60 to 120 minutes of strength work with a solid amount of aerobic activity — walking, cycling, running, whatever gets your heart rate up — had the lowest mortality risk of anyone in the study.

So the real prescription is boring and achievable: two to three strength sessions a week, 30 to 40 minutes each, plus regular cardio. That’s it. That’s the whole protocol.

It really is time to get moving.

Source: British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2026 (30-year study, 147,374 participants across three cohorts, 1992–2022)