Strenuous exercise not good for older people

Heavy exercise may cause venous thrombosis in the elderly. But, the benefits of regular exercise like jogging beat the risks it induces. Venous thrombosis refers to the formation of a blood clot that can either partially or completely block the flow of blood in the vein. It can result in leg pain, tenderness or swelling in one leg, increased body temperature, changes in skin colour and redness of the skin. In extreme cases, venous thrombosis can lead to pulmonary embolism where a blood clot breaks free from a vein wall, travels to the lung and blocks an artery in the lung. American researchers studied 5,534 people aged over 64 years (without a history of venous thrombosis) for 11 years. The exercise regimes of these people were classified as low intensity (walking), moderate intensity (gymnastics) or strenuous (jogging), and subjective factors like gender, age, race, self-reported health, body mass index were taken into consideration. The results showed that 171 people developed venous thrombosis due to strenuous exercise. Strenuous exercise was associated with greater risk of venous thrombosis than no exercise at all. However, mild-intensity exercise like walking slightly lowered the risk of blood clots in comparison to strenuous exercise. In elderly people, strenuous exercise was associated with a higher risk of venous thrombosis than no exercise at all. However, further research is warranted to find out the reasons for this unexpected higher risk of venous thrombosis in elderly people who indulge into strenuous exercise.