Exercise While Aging

Whether you are older or you have elderly people in your life, you have probably seen first hand how difficult it can be for people to move around as they age. My father, who is currently 75 years old, is a perfect example. Although he still works as a security guard and walks at least two miles every day at his job, he has started complaining recently of pains as he is moving. While walking is a great way to stay active, there are other things that we should be doing to exercise our bodies. Here are a few ideas for some stretches and exercises for the older people in your life.
Touch Your Toes. While not every elderly person can stand and bend over without worrying about balance, there is a way to stretch while sitting. Sit on the edge of a chair with slightly bent knees and your legs extended forward. Make sure that your heels are on the floor while your toes are pointed and lean forward to touch them. Once you are as far as you can get, hold that for about ten seconds and slowly sit back up.
Side Leg Raises. Hold onto the back of a chair while standing behind it with both hands resting on it for support. Lift one leg out to the side, bending at the hip. Repeat this ten times for each leg.
Knee Lifts. Sit on the floor or a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Lift your legs one at a time, bent at the knees, until either your knee touches your chest, your leg touches your stomach, or you cannot raise them higher. Repeat this fifteen to twenty times as possible.
Water Aerobics. Exercising in the water is a great alternative to the higher impact exercises that generally cause more trouble with people who suffer from different types of joint pain. Try finding a gym with a pool and see what you can do to help loosen your joints with a lower impact style of exercise.The older we get, the more important exercise is. However, it is also often more and more difficult due to aging bodies. Come into Wirth Chiropractic in Greenville, NC to see if chiropractic care can help with your pain and to work on a personalized exercise plan for you!