Staying Limber as You Grow Older
By Stephen R. Farris
As you grow older, moving around and doing regular tasks can become more of a chore due to gradual loss of flexibility and range of motion. That's why it's important to implement a few stretching techniques into your daily routine.
Stretching is a great way to get started with your day and help loosen stiff muscles and joints, especially in the arms, legs and lower back.
Stretching can also reduce your risk of injury, as well as increase blood flow to your muscles, give you better balance and coordination, and provide better control of your muscles too.
If you experience pain in your back, neck, joints, arms, legs, shoulders, etc., a visit to your local chiropractor can help in relieving some of those pains. He or she may provide tips and suggestions for stretching techniques in those areas that will help speed up recovery. Here's a few tips to get started that you can also do between your chiropractic care sessions.
Guidelines
Research suggests that you stretch your major muscle groups for at least 10 minutes twice per week. If you walk or jog daily, you'll want to use flexibility stretches to help loosen up your muscles.
Stretching Tips
Here are a few things you should do during stretching:
- Take deep breaths and gently exhale while stretching
- Hold stretches for at least 30 seconds to help muscles relax
- Avoid bouncing, as this could cause an injury
- Stretch just enough to feel tension and not overextend to the point of pain
- Move around prior to stretching, at least for 5-10 minutes
Areas to Stretch
Eventually, you should involve your entire body such as:
- Stretching your neck
- Shoulders and upper arms
- Chest
- Ankles
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Hip
- Lower back
One thing that should be pointed out prior to implementing stretching into your daily routine is to talk with your physician and/or chiropractor to see if you are physically able to begin. There are stretching routines that are designed for people that may suffer from nagging injuries, chronic pain or other health ailments. Your doctor or chiropractor can provide you with information on which stretching techniques are best for conditions you may have.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Dallas, Tex.