Stretching Exercises for Seniors

As people age, especially during senior years, there will be several changes that can happen to the body. Muscle mass and muscle strength tend to weaken, body movements become limited, flexibility of the joints and muscle are decreased, which can result to a poorer and less fun life. However, it does not mean that there are no ways that can be done to help in lowering the intensity of those aging effects. Performing stretching exercises is one of the many ways that can help in improving flexibility and mobility in seniors, thus maintaining muscle health through constant utilization by stretching exercises.

Things to Always Remember

If seniors will just be cautious on what they are doing and how they perform each stretching exercise, then they will have a lesser risk for accidents and injuries. Following these safety tips before and during stretching exercises should be done:

• Ensure that the stretching exercise you are going to do will do your body good and can’t cause any injuries. Consult a professional physical trainer or even a medical doctor and ask whether you are fit not just physically, but also mentally, to perform various stretching exercises.
• Stretching exercises should not be done abruptly. Stretching should be done slowly, gently, and steadily, as to help the muscles stretch normally. Doing stretching exercises in a hurry can possibly cause muscle injury, which can be really painful and can prevent you from doing stretching exercises for several days.
• Warm up activities prior to stretching exercises are also recommended. Warming up can help in releasing stress to your muscles and it also helps in preparing your muscles for stretching later on. Warm up activities for seniors can include and not limited to walking, biking, jogging, and running.
• Never perform stretching exercises more than the required number of sets or time. Over stretching will not to do any good, in fact, it can really be bad for your muscles, since it can cause muscle pain, muscle fatigue, or even injuries to the muscle tissue.

How to Do Stretching Exercises

As mentioned earlier, warm up activities for seniors or exercises are recommended to be performed prior to stretching exercises. Aside from warm ups, here are some points to remember when performing stretching exercises:

• Each stretch should be hold for at least 10 seconds to 30 seconds, and should be repeated 2 to 3 times per stretch.
• Stretching exercises can also be done before and after doing strengthening exercises.

Source: http://activities-for-seniors.info/