Maintaining mobility becomes even more important for freedom and quality of life as we age. Seniors can gently but effectively increase flexibility, lower discomfort, and prevent injuries with regular stretching. Even better? With home care by their side, they can feel more confident about their safety while completing the activity, which is key for seniors concerned about falling or worried about hurting themselves by pushing it too far.
Advantages of Stretching for Seniors
There are many advantages for seniors when they focus on stretching for a few minutes each day. Some of these benefits include the following:
- Enhanced Range of Motion: Age naturally reduces flexibility as tendons lose elasticity and muscles begin to shrink. By progressively extending muscles and increasing joint mobility, daily stretching counters these changes. Everyday tasks such as reaching for objects and bending to tie shoes improve this range of motion, but focused stretching offers the most benefits.
- Enhanced Fall Prevention and Balance: For seniors, falls pose a major health risk. The good news is that stretching increases the link between muscles and the nervous system, which enhances body awareness, balance, and coordination. Home care can encourage seniors to focus on stretches that target their hips, ankles, and core to greatly reduce their fall risk.
- Improved Posture: Bad posture ultimately leads to neck and back issues. By strengthening the upper back through stretching, seniors can begin to realign the spine and correct their posture, which will relieve the pressure and pain they feel.
Senior Safe Stretching Guidelines
Along with encouraging seniors to spend a few minutes stretching each day, home care providers can also educate them about safe stretching guidelines. For instance, seniors should start with five to ten minutes of warm-up, such as doing arm circles or walking in place to get the blood flowing, before moving on to their stretching routine.
Other tips include:
- Practice With Moderation: Seniors should not stretch so far or so much that they feel pain. Instead, they should talk it slow, breathe deeply, and hold the position for 15 to 30 seconds. Additionally, they should steer clear of bouncing or jerking motions, which could lead to contracting rather than relaxing muscles.
- Concentrate on Key Muscle Groups: Seniors should focus on stretches for the neck, shoulders, lower back, hips, and calves since aging and an inactive lifestyle most affect these areas. To help them remember this, home care can encourage them to pay attention to the muscles they use for daily tasks, such as stair climbing and overhead reaching.
- Use Help as Needed: There is zero shame in using assistance. Seniors should be encouraged to use support, such as a chair or wall, to help them maintain their balance when doing standing stretches. If seniors don’t feel confident doing standing stretches just yet, they will still get benefits by completing sitting stretches.
- Consistency is Key: Short sessions provide more benefits than practicing for a longer time every once in a while. Home care providers can encourage seniors to consistently stretch for 10 to 15 minutes each day to feel the most impact. To help them remember, it’s a good idea to incorporate stretching into their everyday activities, such as watching TV, following their morning coffee, or just before bed.
Including stretching into daily living will help seniors increase their mobility, independence, and general quality of life. With home care by their side, they can incorporate some of the tips above and start enjoying better flexibility in no time.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Care in Greeley, CO, please contact the caring staff at Talem Home Care & Placement Services of Fort Collins, CO, today. Call (970) 829-0447
At Talem Home Care & Placement Services of Fort Collins CO, we provide passionate, understanding, and flexible caregivers in Fort Collins, Ault, Berthoud, Eaton, Evans, Fort Collins, Garden City, Greeley, Johnstown, Laporte, Loveland, Milliken, Nunn, Pierce, Wellington, Windsor and surrounding areas in Colorado.
Sources:
- https://www.healthybodiesphysiotherapy.com.au/7-reasons-daily-stretches-are-important-for-people-over-60/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/senior-health/stretching-exercises
- https://www.orlincohen.com/news/stretching-for-seniors-and-why-its-important
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