Question related to health conditions for 50+ woman

[Chaitanya]

Hi Team and fellow trekkers,

 

I had trekked with Indiahikes in 2017 for chandrashila peak trek. Since then i wanted to take my mom(present age 52) to atleast  one of the easy2moderate peak treks. 

 

Recently I have read an article about 62 year old man expired due to heart problems after trekking , hence I have decided to make her take TMT once before trekking.

 

Below are my queries and expecting an answer from you.

 

1. What spring trek do you suggest her(I thought of kedarkanth trek as it comes under easy trek for beginners)!?

2. She had undergone hernia and uterus removal operations last year. Is she eligible for the trek and what extra precautions need to be taken?

[Chandravadan]

People with health issues should avoid adventures at remote mountainous  places as getting professional medical help could take hours or days.

The difficulty levels for such treks are specified broadly considering younger people in 20s / 30s. A trek categorised as Easy may not be really easy  for someone in their 50s and that too with health conditions.

If you want to show your mom mountains, consider taking her there in an SUV.

[Vinita]

It depends on your Mom's general health and fitness levels. A higher chronological age is not a barrier for trekking, and neither is a repaired hernia or removed uterus.

If she desires to trek, then she should work on her fitness, and it will be a pleasure for her.

Suggest she take walks and not jog or run. To improve the strength in her lower limbs she can start with 1/4 Kg wts and then increase to half kg weights then one kg weights on the ankles during walks. You can buy them from any sports shop. Preferably wear ankle support shoes for walk if she is going to strap on the weights.

Importantly, take her only if she has the drive and want to go, else it will not be pleasurable.

Kuari pass or Pindari glacier are good soft treks too

 

[Dr Sree]

Hey this is sree here.. as a doctor and trekker, i can tell you that doing a Himalayan trek is very much possible post abdominal surgery like hernia.... personally i feel like doing a trek in the Himalayas does not come close to doing a trip by road or motorbike at all... a trek gives you so much more in return! However there are a few things to keep in mind there....

first thing is her fitness, especially cardio.. She should be comfortable with brisk walking by the start of the trek.... A time 5 km in 40-45  minutes is good enough for an easy-moderate trek like Kedarkantha or Dayara Bugyal.. she can start out slow and then slowly increase her pace and distance till she achieves this

Second thing is strength training.... the abdominal wall muscles get a little weaker post major abdominal surgery like hernia repair... So she should do basic body weight exercises like planks etc and follow a healthy diet rich in proteins, to help build her abdominal wall muscles. This will also greatly help her in trekking.

apart from these two points, if she is otherwise healthy and does not have uncontrolled  hypertension or diabetes she should be fine to trek after good preparation! She will anyway be required to get a medical certificate from a doctor, just like all trekkers, before the trek.

also, one pro tip, i would suggest dayara bugyal over Kedarkantha as the latter is quite popular and can get crowded 🙂

hope this helps! Do update us when she does go on the trek 🙂

Edited October 2, 2022 by Dr Sree
Missed a point so wanted to add it

[Ila]

On 9/29/2022 at 7:04 PM, Chaitanya said:

Hi Team and fellow trekkers,

 

I had trekked with Indiahikes in 2017 for chandrashila peak trek. Since then i wanted to take my mom(present age 52) to atleast  one of the easy2moderate peak treks. 

 

Recently I have read an article about 62 year old man expired due to heart problems after trekking , hence I have decided to make her take TMT once before trekking.

 

Below are my queries and expecting an answer from you.

 

1. What spring trek do you suggest her(I thought of kedarkanth trek as it comes under easy trek for beginners)!?

2. She had undergone hernia and uterus removal operations last year. Is she eligible for the trek and what extra precautions need to be taken?

Hey I am 58, I don’t think I am old, my fitness level was average, I built on it further from there. 52 isn’t much at all. 
 

Did my first ever trek in august. Beas kund. 
 

plus I had fear of heights and was totally not shaky. 

but really, 52 isn’t anything much! 

choose which  trek you want wisely  

Picture: with my awesome two tent mates who are younger than my children. 😃