Sunday February 26, 2012
Keep your joints strong and flexible to stay healthy.
IN the last article (Be active for life, Fit4Life, Feb 12, 2012), I extolled the necessity and benefits of being active, especially regular aerobics exercise and building and maintaining sufficient muscles as we age.
Today, I will share with you the importance of stretching/flexibility exercises, and some simple exercises that you can do at home, or anywhere.
Stretching and flexibility
As we age, one of the first problems we commonly encounter is stiffness of the joints and the spinal column. We were all babies once. Babies are so supple that they can be rolled up into balls. But as they grow, not all the flexion and extension capabilities of the joints are routinely utilised, so these joints gradually lose their full range of flexibility.
However, gymnasts who continually and fervently flex and extend their body and limbs continue to enjoy maximum flexibility for as long as they practise their moves. Contortionists go even beyond the normal range – they twist and bend the body in such incredible ways that they can fit their entire body into a small box!
All this tells us that the body, if well maintained, is meant to remain flexible even as we grow old. It is our lack of stretching and flexibility exercises that cause the joints and spine to stiffen up. Poor diet (ie lacking in nutrients essential for strong bones and joints) and lifestyle (eg always slouched in front of a TV or computer) add to the problem.
Because of poor posture, improper ways of carrying weights (eg bending over to lift heavy stuff, instead of squatting down to do so), and poor conditioning of core muscles to maintain the spinal column in its proper configuration, many of us end up with spinal problems such as scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, spondylosis, intervertebral disc prolapse and many other conditions that could cause pain, disability and deformity.
As we age beyond menopause/andropause (generally 50 years and older), osteopenia and osteoporosis may set in and aggravate the existing problems.
So do not underestimate the importance of stretching/flexibility exercises. They are good “warm-up” exercises, but are also very important by themselves.
The neck
The stretching exercises should cover all the joints – literally from head to toe. Many people have problems with neck stiffness and pain. The pain may even extend to the shoulders and arms if the nerves supplying these areas are pinched.
Start with rotating the head fully but slowly while flexing and extending the neck. Then, with the neck fully stretched, turn the head maximally to the sides.
I teach a qigong version which was described in a previous article (see http://www.superqigong.com/articlesmore.asp?id=17). Doing it the qigong way means the qi (life force) also helps in correcting the misalignments.
Shoulders and arms
For the shoulders and arms, there are four joints (or group of joints in the case of the fingers) that need to be kept flexible. You should flex and extend the fingers in as many ways as possible, without causing pain. If the flexion/extension is limited by discomfort, then stop at that point, but repeat the exercise so that it will improve as you repeat.
However, do not repeat if there is pain. This principle applies to all the exercises.
The wrists should be flexed, extended and rotated maximally. The elbow joints should also be fully flexed, extended, and rotated. Except for tennis players (hence “tennis elbow”), other racquet-games players, ten-pin bowlers and other athletes (shooters, archers, etc), most of us do not get elbow problems, apart from accidental injuries and dislocations.
The shoulder joints should be maximally rotated, bringing the arms to the front, upward, sideways, downwards and backwards, but most people have limited backward mobility of the arms due to disuse (ie seldom or never stretch the arms maximally backwards).
Shoulder stiffness is also a common problem, the worse being “frozen shoulder” (severe limitation due to scarring of the joint capsule).
The back (spine)
The next area to concentrate on is the upper back, where many of us have some degree of spinal kyphosis (excess spinal curvature backwards) due to poor posture, made worse by poor back musculature and osteoporosis.
You should stretch and straighten your back repeatedly, maintaining it in the stretched posture for as long as possible until discomfort sets in.
It is best to do this exercise while putting counter-pressure on your lower abdomen using your hands (folded and pushing against the lower abdomen as you stretch your upper back).
Those with scoliosis (side-bending/twisting of the spine) will be helped by repeated stretching and maximally bending forwards (best done while sitting down on the chair, or on the floor with knees bent or legs folded as in the “semi-lotus” position).
The lower back is where most spinal problems occur because of the same reasons listed above (poor posture, poor muscles, weak bones) plus the added problems of obesity (and pregnancy, which, however, is only temporary) and the wrong way of lifting heavy objects (as mentioned earlier).
All these cause lordosis (abnormal spinal curvature forwards), which will cause pressure on the nerves that exit at this area. Those with collapsed vertebrae or prolapsed vertebral discs will have even greater problems.
The stretching exercises for this area can be done the ordinary or qigong way. The physical movements are the same (see http://www.superqigong.com/articlesmore.asp?id=16). The qigong way involves added mindfulness and conscious breathing, and the qi will also help in correcting any existing problem.
It is crucial to support the spine with strong abdominal and back muscles. Please refer to the previous article (at http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2012/2/12/health/10716963&sec=health) for the appropriate exercises (sit-ups, reverse crunch and cobra-stretch).
The hip joints
The hip joints should be maximally rotated in all directions. Like the shoulder joints, many of us have lost the full backwards flexibility due to underuse. To help regain full flexibility, you should bring your knee (one at a time, best done while standing) to the chest while keeping your spine straight, and then slowly rotate the leg sideways as far as you can.
You can use your hands to secure the knee and improve the results. Do this while sitting down if you don’t have strong legs.
The next exercise must be done while standing. You can improve hip extension by lifting your leg backward (one at a time), catching your ankle, and then pulling it maximally towards the buttocks. This will cause maximal flexion of the knee joint. Now lift up the knee (backwards) as high as possible. This will cause maximal extension of the hip joint.
For best results, use both hands to hold the ankle and foot, and lean forward so that you can lift the knees higher. You should feel some tension in the anterior thigh muscles.
Note that hip fractures are very common in those with osteoporosis (80% are women), and the fractures usually occur at the femoral neck that supports the femoral head (which is the “ball” in the “ball-and-socket” hip joint). Maintaining strong bones, strong muscles and flexible joints will definitely reduce the risk.
The knees
The knees can only flex and extend. Side movements are extremely limited and strain the ligaments that maintain this rigid stability, which is necessary since the legs have to carry the body’s weight, and even more when we carry heavy loads and jog or run.
Many people end up with painful and stiff knees because of chronic additional stress on the knees (eg obesity, jogging, running, sports) that cause the cartilage to wear out faster, and sometimes, bone spurs grow and make matters worse. Athletes may tear their knee ligaments, which will require surgery.
I do not encourage jogging or running because of the repeated strain on the knee joints. To achieve cardiovascular/pulmonary fitness, there are other alternative aerobics exercises that do not strain the knees (eg brisk walking, swimming, cycling, and my favourite – the elliptical or cross-trainer).
Knee flexibility is usually not a problem until the cartilage that covers and acts as padding for the bones which meet at the joint become eroded, and the bones start grinding each other (osteoarthritis). This is made worse if the joint (synovial) fluid also dries up.
Fortunately, we now know that nutrients like glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM can help improve and maintain joint health. There are also nutrients (eg curcumin) and traditional medicines which may also help.
If the problem persists, doctors can help with analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, synovial fluid injection or even stem cell therapy.
The ankles and toes
The ankles should be flexed, extended and rotated as much as possible. Ankle strength is determined by the Achilles tendon and care must be taken not to put undue stress on this. Many have required surgery due to its tearing or severance.
The toes should be bent and extended at every joint (two for the big toe and three each for the others) to maintain their maximum flexibility.
Apart from the loss of flexibility and function due to wear-and–tear (osteoarthritis) and injury, and stiffness due to underuse, the joints can also be afflicted by diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, infections and other causes of joint inflammation.
While doctors now understand a lot about joint problems and their remedies, it is best to be proactive and avoid these problems by maintaining strong and healthy joints. The exercises described above should help you achieve this.
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?sec=he...%3Fref%3Dsex%E2%80%9E%C2%A3%E2%80%9A%C2%A3%E2%80%9E%C2%A2%E2%80%9A%E2%80%A2%E2%80%9E%C2%A3%E2%80%9A%E2%80%A2%E2%80%9E%C2%A2%E2%80%9A%C3%A6hop.com&file=/2012/2/26/health/10801248
