Recently, by listening to a podcast with Dr Vonda Wright I was struck by how radically our view of ageing needs to change. Dr Wright is an orthopaedic sports surgeon and internationally recognised researcher whose work on mobility and musculoskeletal ageing focuses on keeping people out of the “blue room” (the operating theatre) for as long as possible.She also has a background as an oncology nurse, which had a deep influence on her holistic view of Western medicine.
In a long‑form conversation on active ageing, she describes how studying senior and master’s athletes has convinced her that up to 70% of how we age is linked to daily lifestyle choices – movement, nutrition, sleep and stress – rather than simply our birth year or genetics. You can get a feel for her message in this YouTube interview, “Dr Vonda Wright on Active Ageing” (The Ready State Podcast, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2KEDVPrH0I.
Connecting Dr Wright’s Ideas with East Asian Medicine
The podcast conversation with Dr Vonda Wright gives you a jolt: it becomes clear that much of what is blamed on age is actually the result of years of under-loading, under-fuelling and under-sleeping our bodies. At Ondol, this perspective immediately calls to mind long‑standing East Asian Medical ideas about preserving essence, moving qi and ageing with dignity rather than resignation.
Hearing Dr Wright talk about “mobility as medicine” and “joint longevity” immediately resonated with the way East Asian Medicine has described healthy ageing for centuries. Where she speaks of muscle mass, bone density, neuromuscular control and preventing joint replacements, East Asian Medicine speaks of preserving Kidney essence, nourishing blood and keeping qi moving freely through the channels with our Liver energy.
This blog grew out of that connection: a meeting point between a modern orthopaedic surgeon using MRI scans, DEXA bone density measurements and performance data, and a traditional system that has long emphasised balance, rhythm and wise living throughout the later decades of life. As you read on, you will see how these seemingly different languages often point to the same practical message: ageing is not a cliff; it is a daily practice.
What does getting old actually mean?
For a long time, “I’m just getting old” has been the convenient label for stiff joints, poor sleep and fading energy. Yet large cohorts of senior athletes, studied by clinicians like
Dr Vonda Wright, show that many so‑called “age problems” are actually, inactivity problems.
East Asian Medicine has always insisted that ageing is a dynamic process of gain and loss, where intentional living can slow decline and deepen vitality. When these time‑tested ideas meet new insights from mobility and longevity research, the message is confronting but liberating how you age is, to a surprising degree, a daily choice.
The New Science: Lifestyle Rewrites Your Age
Dr Wright’s research with master’s and senior athletes demonstrates that physical performance is a powerful biomarker for how we age, not just a vanity metric. In these groups, mobility, strength and balance remain closer to much younger people, and cognitive function is often sharper than in inactive peers of the same chronological age.
She estimates that up to 70% of how we age is influenced by lifestyle choices such as daily movement, nutrition, sleep and stress, leaving only about 30% to genetics and chance. Regular, intelligent movement (even as little as 30 minutes a day) can reduce chronic disease risk, support brain health and preserve independence decades longer.
Mind‑provoking insight: If 70% of your ageing trajectory is in your hands, “that’s just age” stops being an explanation and becomes a resignation.
TCM On Ageing: Preserve your Essence, protect your joints
Classical East Asian texts describe ageing as a gradual decline of jing (essence), particularly stored in the Kidneys, which governs bones, joints, brain and reproductive ageing. When Kidney energy weakens, the body becomes more prone to fear, instability, bone loss and joint degeneration – remarkably similar to what modern medicine observes as osteoporosis, sarcopenia and fall risk.
Where modern research speaks of muscle mass, bone density and neuromuscular control, East Asian Medicine speaks of Kidney qi, blood and yin, and the need to preserve them through wise living. Overwork, chronic stress, poor sleep and long‑term fear are seen as “burning up” this essence faster, which lines up with evidence that chronic stress, sleep deprivation and inactivity accelerate biological ageing and cognitive decline.
Mind‑provoking insight: a TCM practitioner centuries ago would have recognised many of the “timebombs” Dr Wright describes in modern women – joint pain, muscle loss, brittle bones around menopause – as classic Kidney depletion patterns.
Liver energy, movement and healthy ageing
In East Asian Medicine, the Liver is seen as the key driver of movement and flow in the body, responsible for ensuring the smooth circulation of qi through the channels, joints and organs. It also supports emotional flexibility, helping us adapt to change rather than getting stuck in frustration or rigidity, which is particularly important as life transitions accumulate with age.
When Liver qi moves freely, the body tends to feel supple, the mind clearer and emotions more even, and over time this smooth qi flow nourishes and supports the circulation of Blood, which is vital for healthy muscles, tendons and eyes. If Liver qi becomes constrained through long‑term stress, inactivity or unresolved frustration, it can lead to stagnation – felt as stiffness, pain, digestive upset, mood swings or headaches – and, over the longer term, may affect the quality and movement of Blood, making healthy ageing more difficult.
Where Dr Wright and TCM shake hands
There are striking overlaps between Dr Wright’s active‑ageing framework and East Asian Medicine’s view of healthy ageing:
- Mobility as medicine vs qi in motion
- Dr Wright describes mobility as central to longevity: movement preserves joint cartilage, muscles, balance and brain health.
- TCM states “where there is free flow, there is no pain”, stagnation of qi and blood leads to stiffness, pain and degenerative change, especially with age.
- Muscle and bone vs Kidney and Spleen
- Modern research shows that strength training, impact loading and good nutrition are essential to protect muscle and bone, particularly for peri‑ and post‑menopausal women.
- In TCM, strong bones and stable joints depend on the Kidneys, while well‑developed muscles depend on the Spleen; both are nourished by appropriate movement and diet, not by rest alone.
- Healthspan vs preserving essence
- Dr Wright’s work focuses on extending health span: the years in which people remain strong, mobile and independent, not just alive.
- East Asian Medicine has always valued a long life with clarity, dignity and purpose, emphasising preservation of essence through a moderate, rhythmical lifestyle.
Mind‑provoking insight: If you do not regularly “load” your muscles and bones, modern science says they weaken; TCM would call this failing to stimulate and nourish your Kidney and Spleen systems. Different language, same consequence.
Practical ways to age powerfully, East and West
Translating these shared insights into daily life can make your later decades your most powerful ones. At Ondol, this might look like:
- Move like your future depends on it
- Include most days: 30 minutes of moderate movement (walking, cycling, dancing) plus 2–3 sessions of resistance training per week to protect muscle, bone and joint integrity.
- From a TCM perspective, this keeps qi and blood circulating, preventing the stagnation that leads to pain and frailty, while gently tonifying Kidney and Spleen.
- Use acupuncture and manual therapy to stay in the game
- Regular acupuncture moves the Qi, can reduce pain, improve sleep and calm the nervous system, making it easier to maintain an active lifestyle especially dropping activity after injury.
- Gentle bodywork and moxibustion can warm and nourish ageing joints and muscles, supporting recovery between training sessions and everyday activities.
- Eat and live to protect your “unbreakable” self
- Dr Wright highlights targeted nutrition to reduce inflammation, support the gut microbiome and build strong muscles and bones, especially through menopause and beyond for women.
- TCM emphasises warm, regular meals, colourful seasonal vegetables and lean meat avoiding extremes of diet that weaken digestion and slowly drain Kidney essence.
- Mindset: from “too old” to “in training for 90”
- Senior athletes in Dr Wright’s studies don’t see their 60s or 70s as an endpoint; they are actively training for future decades.
- Similarly, East Asian Medicine frames each life stage as an opportunity to cultivate different aspects of self – wisdom, steadiness, contribution – rather than as a story of relentless loss.
Rethinking Age: From Inevitable Decline To Daily Practice
When modern mobility science and East Asian Medicine sit side by side, a clear pattern emerges: ageing is not a cliff but a practice. The most confronting message is also the most hopeful – the body responds to what you do repeatedly, whether that is hours of sitting and stress or years of considered movement, nourishing food and regular regulation of your nervous system.
Framed this way, your “real age” becomes less about your birth date and more about how you choose to live today.
Ageing differently starts with a single decision, not a birthday. If this way of thinking sparks something in you and you would like to explore how to stay strong, mobile and clear‑headed into your later decades, you are welcome to work with the team at Ondol.
At Ondol Clinic, our practitioners integrate East Asian Medicine with contemporary insights into mobility, bone health and healthy ageing to create individualised treatment and self‑care plans. To find out whether this approach might be right for you, you can call us on (07) 3371 0100 or visit our website to make an appointment or send an enquiry.