5 Best Daily Stretching Exercises to Try Now

Feb 08, 2021 · 3

Regular stretching offers a vast number of health benefits to older adults. Tight and stiff muscles can lead to poor posture. For instance, tight muscles in your chest, spine, and hips can cause poor posture and balance. Stretching exercises can improve the pectoralis, hamstring, and upper trapezius muscles to improve posture.

Stretching improves flexibility and range of motion in your joints, leading to enhanced performance in physical activities for seniors. Back pain, especially lumbar spine pain, is a common health condition in older adults. Poor posture in the cervical spine (upper back) can lead to discomfort and pain in the lumbar spine (lower back). The condition is often due to tight hamstrings and hip flexors. Regular stretching can alleviate discomfort, inflammation, and pain in your back.

Additionally, stretching exercises can prevent muscle soreness and reduce the risk of injuries. In today's article, we will talk about five of the best stretching exercises for older adults. Read on!

Try These 5 Stretches Every Day!

Behind the Back Arm Raises

As the name indicates, this is an excellent stretching exercise for seniors who want to strengthen their arms, chest, and shoulders. The exercise focuses on your pectoralis major, deltoid, latissimus dorsi, and rotator cuff muscles. The purpose is to increase the range of motion in your forearm and strengthen your biceps, triceps, and brachialis.
1. Stand straight and keep your body comfortable
2. Move your feet slightly apart
3. Now, interlace your hands behind your back
4. On the exhale, allow your hands to fall near your lower back
5. Make sure your knuckles point down
6. Then elevate your arms from the lower back or tailbone
Hula Hoop

The Hula Hoop exercise increases your hip muscle strength, flexibility, and mobility. It is an easy exercise for seniors and helps increase the range of motion in their hips, especially the ball and socket joint. The purpose is to improve movements like hip flexion, adduction, abduction, extension, and rotation.
1. Stand straight with your feet together
2. Keep your hands on your hips
3. Circle your hips at least five times clockwise as if you are hula-hooping
4. Then, circle your hips five times counterclockwise
5. While doing hula-hooping, make sure your shoulders do not move
6. Keep your core engaged so that you get the most out of your stretching
Lower the Chin

This strengthens your cervical flexors and extensors. It maintains a good neck posture and improves flexibility in muscles above your shoulders and with the ears. The exercise also stretches your scalene muscles located at the front side of your neck and suboccipital muscles at the skull's base. This stretch is useful for seniors with neck and shoulder pain.
1. Position your arms in front of you
2. Make sure your elbows and palms touch
3. Put your palms in front of your face
4. Then, put them on top of your head
5. Once done, drop your chin carefully
6. Feel the stretch in your neck and shoulders
7. Stay in this position for 5-10 seconds
8. Return to the starting position
9. Repeat the steps 3-5 times
Quad Pull

The quad pull is an excellent exercise to stretch your quadriceps muscles located in front of your thighs. The workout increases mobility and flexibility in your thighs, helping you stand, sit, walk, run, and move easily. The stretch also keeps your kneecap strengthened and stable.
1. Stand straight with your feet together
2. Position your arms at the sides
3. Put your hands on the wall (you can also use a table for support)
4. Balance on your left leg and bring the right one back
5. Grab the right leg with your right hand
6. Make sure to maintain a proper body alignment (from head to tailbone)
7. Keep your torso elevated to feel the stretch
8. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times or more, depending on your stamina
Yo-Yo

Yo-Yo is another stretching exercise for older adults to improve posture and maintain proper alignment in the spine. If you have back pain, this stretch can increase flexibility in your spine and reduce discomfort.
- Stand comfortably with your feet apart at shoulder-width
- Move your toes out a bit and interlace your palms
- Now, bring your palms to your chest
- Stay in this position and start twisting from side to side
- Make sure your lower body remains still, and your head aligns with your torso

Stretching is vital for seniors to maintain their posture, improve their balance, and reduce the risk of falls. Stretching also increases blood flow to your muscles and helps decrease tension and stress. All this results in strengthened muscles, enhanced flexibility, and range of motion.