Simple Exercises for Seniors: Part 1 (suitable for all ages)

Noticed Grandpa and Grandma (or Dad and Mum) shuffling a little lately? Or caught them placing a hand on their back to give themselves a massage?

Wondering what you could do to help them become stronger, to feel more comfortable?

Muscle strength and Range of motion

As we age, we lose muscle strength and our joints tend to lose their suppleness. The range of motion of our joints becomes limited.

We stop being able to bend and touch our toes. We can’t turn from the waist and look back. Lifting our legs up to climb the stairs becomes a challenge.

Other than posing an inconvenience, these situations could actually be risky or even dangerous.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, one of the reasons for the higher risk for falls in the elderly is the body’s deterioration with age. 

We gradually lose muscle strength (i.e. we become weaker) with age.

Our joint tendons and ligaments lose their flexibility, resulting in limited range of motion. 

Tight muscles ( = shortened muscle fibres) also cause the range of motion of joints to be reduced.

Hence, the elderly fall more easily, often injuring themselves in the process. Many of us have heard of at least one elderly person who suffered (sometimes serious) injuries after a bad fall.

Conversely, if an elderly person can retain his/her muscle strength and joint range of motion, the risk of falling would decrease.

As is often said, “Prevention is better than cure”.

Let’s get down to the first exercise to help Grandpa and Grandma stay strong and flexible. 

We're starting with a relaxing exercise - to stretch out the back muscles and start to regain some range of motion in the spine. 

Other strengthening exercises will follow in later posts.

The exercise

If they are healthy, Grandpa and Grandma would probably not need any assistance while doing the exercise. However, it’s good to be with them when they do the exercise, especially in the first few times, just in case they need help.

What’s more, it’s nice to be by their side to offer “moral support” and encouragement while they’re trying something new!

Note:

• Do the exercise on the floor on a yoga mat, or on a firm mattress.
• Stay focused during the exercise. Observe the sensations in the body.
• If there is any pain or discomfort, stop the exercise.
• If Grandpa and Grandma have had any injury or have a chronic illness, consult a doctor before beginning the exercise.

Supine Spinal Twist

Relax and let gravity do the work in Supine Spinal Twist

1. Lie on your back.
2. Bend your knees and hug them to your chest.
3. Release your left arm to the floor, extending it straight out at shoulder level.
4. Exhale, drop both knees over to the right side of your body, twisting the spine and lower back. Place your right hand lightly on your knees.
5. Keep your left shoulder on the floor.
6. If it feels ok for your neck, turn your head and look at your left hand.
7. Relax into the pose. Let gravity pull the knees down, so you do not have to use any effort in this pose.
8. Hold for up to 10 breaths.
9. To release, inhale and roll the hips back to the floor, bringing your knees back to your chest.
10. Repeat on the other side for the same duration of time.

Benefits

• Stretches the back muscles --> this can help to reduce backache caused by tightness in the back muscles
• Realigns and lengthens the spine

Stay Safe

• Do not use force in this pose, let gravity do the work.
• Seek a doctor’s advice before practising if you have a recent or a chronic injury to the knees, hips or back.

Do let me know your feedback after Grandpa and/or Grandma (or you!) give this a try, in the comments below.

No time to take care of your health? Try this one-minute "exercise".

Want to take care of your health, but can't seem to find the time?

Your body seems to be telling you something. There's an ache in your lower back. It comes and goes. The knees feel a little stiff.

Feel like you should do something to keep fit, or stay healthy? 

Yet, there are too few hours in a day. Too many things that you want to (have to) do, that are more important, more urgent.

When you're done with everything else, you're too tired.

Too tired!

What do you do after you get home at the end of the day?

(a) Sit down to watch TV
(b) Sit down to read
(c) Sit down to surf the web/watch stuff online
(d) Sit down with the kids to go through their homework
(e) Sit down and ... (do whatever)
(f) Do something while not sitting down

My guess is, whatever you choose to do, you're probably sitting while you're doing it.

Add that to the huge chunk of time that we spend seated during the workday, that's a lot of time that we spend sitting down.

Sitting (in a chair) too much is bad for health

Prolonged sitting does the following to your hip flexors (the muscles responsible for flexing the hip or drawing the knees to your chest, and moving your legs front to back and side to side):

• Shortens the hip flexors
• Which causes tightness in the hip flexors and reduced range of motion

Tight hip flexors eventually lead to hip pain and lower back pain, pelvic tilting and even knee problems.

What if some of that time that we spend "sitting down" at home could double up as time for you to take care of your body, in a simple way?

You'll just have to make one small change.

Instead of sitting in a chair, sit on the floor. 

• Sit with your spine upright (don't round your back).
• Try to sit with your knees bent/legs crossed, if you can. If that's too difficult right now, sit with your legs stretched out in front of you.
• If you wish, sit on a low cushion/mat/rug. Don't make yourself too uncomfortable.
• You can do something else (read, watch TV, check your kid's homework) while you're sitting on the floor.

Just sit on the floor for one minute each day. 

(That's about the time taken to watch 2 TV commercials, or read one page of a book.)

After a few (probably 3 or 4) days, you will notice your body getting used to it. For example,

• You feel less uncomfortable.

• You struggle less to stay balanced.

• It gets easier to sit down and get up.

• Your bent knees don't feel so stiff or painful. Or you find that you can start to bend your knees more.

When that happens, extend the time by one more minute. Then, when your body gets used to that, add another minute.

Keep doing this every day for two weeks.

• Pay attention to how you feel immediately after every session.  
• At the end of two weeks, you would probably be able to sit on the floor for 3 to 5 minutes.

Benefits of sitting on the floor

1. Engage more muscles compared to sitting in a chair.  
2. Better blood circulation back to your heart (your heart doesn't have to work so hard to pump blood throughout the body).  
3. Strengthens the lumbar region of the body (lower back), reducing back pain and discomfort.  
4. Strengthens the core muscles. 
5. Improves the suppleness of the ankles.  
6. Stretches the hip flexors.   
7. Promotes mental calmness, soothes frazzled nerves and is said to aid one’s creative imagination 

 

Ability to sit on and rise from the floor is inversely related to mortality risk

In the 13 December 2012 issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, in a study spanning 6 years, researchers reported that subjects who scored poorly on the “SRT score” (sitting-rising score) were at risk of being 6.5 times more likely to die in the next six years.

If just sitting on the floor is too easy for you

If you find just sitting on the floor, cross-legged too easy, I'll be back soon with the next post in which I will describe a more challenging exercise.

In the meantime, just sit on the floor a little longer! :)

Reference:

de Brito, Ricardo, et al. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality,  European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Dec 2012

Get relief for your neck and shoulders in less than 5 minutes

Do you:

• Feel tightness in your shoulders
• Have a stiff feeling in your neck
• Sometimes have difficulty turning your head to look to the side
• Occasionally have numbness running down your arm

These are often aggravated by doing the following for long periods of time:

• Slouching at your desk, typing away on your computer or surfing the Internet
• Peering at the screen of your smart phone

As a result, a lot of tension accumulates in your neck and shoulders. This tension could sometimes cause headaches too.


Try the following sequence (it takes less than 5 minutes) during the day to release some of that tension. If you do this before going to bed, it might help you get better rest.

1. Pulled Apart [1 minute]

• Sit upright on the floor or in your chair.
• Inhale and raise both arms up from your sides to shoulder level.
• Relax your shoulders and roll your shoulders away from your ears.
• Stretch your arms out to the sides as much as you can. Imagine that your arms are being pulled to your left and right respectively.
• Spread your fingers wide.
• If you feel any tension in your arms or shoulders, gently focus your attention to that area where you feel the tension, consciously relaxing the area.
• Hold for up to 30 seconds, then slowly relax your arms and lower them.

2. Tilt-Shift [1 minute]

• If you're seated on the floor, when you lower your arms (with elbows straight) from #1, bring your arms low enough so that your fingertips are just touching the floor. Keep pointing your fingers.
• If you're seated in a chair, reach below and hold on to the seat of your chair from the side. Keep your chest wide and have your arms straight.
• Keep your face facing the front and your shoulders relaxed.
• Exhale and tilt your head to the right, bringing your right ear towards your right shoulder. Imagine that your head is really heavy so your ear is going closer and closer to your shoulder.
• Hold for up to 30 seconds, then bring your head back to the centre on an inhale.
• Repeat on the other side for the same duration.

3. Left-and-right [1 minute]

• Keep your arms and hands as in #2.
• As you exhale, keeping your chin level, turn your head to the right, as far as you can.
• Then, lower your chin and look down along your arm towards your fingertips.
• Hold for up to 30 seconds, then inhale, bring your head up (keep chin level to the floor) and turn to the front.
• Repeat on the other side for the same duration.

4. Up-and-down [1 minute]

• Keep your arms and hands as in #2.
• As you exhale, slowly drop your head to the back and look towards the ceiling.
• Hold for up to 30 seconds.
• Exhale and begin to look down by trying to bring your chin towards your chest. Keep your shoulders relax and your chest open.
• Hold for up to 30 seconds. 
• Inhale, and bring your head up (chin level to the floor).

Let me know (in the comments) how you feel after trying out the sequence.