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.
