Safety Tip: Avoid bouncing during static stretches, as it can lead to injury. Instead, add some dynamic bodyweight exercises, like lunges and squats, to your stretching.
As we age, our muscles weaken and joints stiffen, making even the most basic tasks burdensome. Fortunately, stretching can help mitigate this reduced mobility.
Adding a simple stretching regimen to your week can help you restore flexibility, ease discomfort, loosen muscles, and relax joints, making those everyday activities less difficult once again. Here are some of our favorite stretches for seniors.
Stretching, when done routinely, provides older adults with an abundance of health benefits, such as improving circulation, balance, flexibility, muscle tone, and mood. Stretching also helps to minimize muscle tension, stress, and the probability of falls
For those who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters, stretching can also reduce spasticity and swelling in the lower extremities.
As you age, your joints become stiffer and less flexible because the amount of lubricating fluid inside them decreases, cartilage becomes thinner, and muscles shorten.
The effects of age, combined with an increase in sedentary lifestyle that’s common to many older adults, cause tight muscles, an increase of injuries, and the inability to fully use your muscles when you need them for an activity. As a result, you are left at risk for muscle damage, strains, and joint pain.
Before doing any stretching, it’s important to warm up your muscles. By doing so, you improve your circulation and raise the temperature of your muscle tissue temperature, which reduces your injury risk.
One way to go is to plan your stretching routine to follow your regular cardio workout. That way, your muscles are already warmed up. Alternatively, five to 10 minutes of light activity, like walking, should do that trick. Nevertheless, if you prefer, you can create the same effect with a hot bath.
Plan on stretching all your major muscle groups at least two to three times a week as well as after any workout. Most stretches should be held without a bounce for approximately 30 seconds. They should then be repeated two more times before switching sides.
Experts continue to debate the best time of day to stretch. Still, each option has its benefits. Stretching when you wake up in the morning can relieve pain and tension you’ve added to your body overnight, help improve your mood, and boost your circulation. However, stretching before bed relaxes your muscles, improves sleep, and helps prevent you from waking up with new pain in the morning.
Although some stretches require additional equipment, such as resistance bands, chairs, and towels, the majority of stretches can be performed without any equipment.
Stretching should never cause pain. It may feel uncomfortable sometimes, but if a stretch is painful, stop. If the pain continues when you try again, speak with a doctor or physical therapist about your concerns and stretching technique. Remember, it takes time to increase flexibility. If you try to push too hard into a stretch before your muscles are ready, you can end up with a torn muscle.
Safety Tip: Avoid bouncing during static stretches, as it can lead to injury. Instead, add some dynamic bodyweight exercises, like lunges and squats, to your stretching.
Target Muscles: Rotator cuff muscles
Shoulder stretches are valuable for relieving tightness and tension in your shoulders, neck, and upper back. This specific stretch, the cross-body shoulder stretch, is known for relieving pain in the posterior shoulder, improving posture and mobility, preventing deterioration, and reducing the risk of shoulder injuries.
Target Muscles: hips, lower back, hamstrings, glutes
The seated knee-to-chest stretch focuses on two large muscle groups at the back of your legs, your hamstrings and glutes, both of which need flexibility to avoid injuries. This stretch also helps to release back tension and increase blood flow to your upper extremities.
Target Muscles: soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, Achilles tendon
While the soleus stretch is vital for all seniors, it is beneficial for those who are often on their feet. If your calves seem constantly tight or sore, it’s likely the soleus muscles. Since the soleus muscle is located deep in the calf, this powerful muscle can be challenging to stretch and care for. Fortunately, this simple stretch can help you make significant strides toward loosening the soleus and relieving the discomfort in your calf.
Target Muscles: Lower back, core, neck muscles
Helpful for relieving neck pain as well as tightness in your back and core, the overhead side stretch is easy to use just about anywhere.
Modification: Try doing the overhead side stretch seated if you have weakness in your core or problems with balance.
Stretching the quadriceps, a large muscle group located at the front of your thigh, is critical because when these muscles remain too tight, they frequently cause knee and back pain. Quad stretches are great for improving the range of motion in your hips and knees. This particular stretch requires a high level of balance control.
Target Muscles: Quadriceps
Modification: If you struggle with balance, try performing this stretch while placing your idle hand on a wall or chair to keep you steady.
Target Muscles: Calves, hamstrings, hips
Hamstring stretches effectively increase low-back and leg flexibility and are a go-to stretch for sciatica sufferers. Stretching the hamstrings also improves your ability to bend over and pick things up, a common area of frustration for seniors.
Modification: For added support, do this exercise on your bed or while seated.
However, please note that seniors with lower-back pain will experience the most relief with hamstring stretches done while on their back, as this is the least stressful position for your body.
Target Muscles: Triceps
The triceps stretch works the large muscle on the back of your upper arms used for upper-body strength and part of the movement in your shoulders and arms. Stretching this muscle also helps to stabilize your shoulder, increase circulation, and improve flexibility.
Modification: If you can’t reach your back with your hand (step 2), place your hand on the back of your head instead and continue with the exercise.
Note: This stretch is more advanced than those listed above and is often better for active individuals who already stretch regularly.
Target Muscles: Pectineus, iliacus, psoas, rectus femoris, sartorius
Strong hip muscles are vital for mobility. Unfortunately, tight hip muscles are something frequently experienced by seniors. While this stretch is a bit on the advanced side, it’s actually specifically helpful in relieving tightness and pain in individuals who spend much of their day seated.
Modification: Use a wall or chair for balance assistance.
With age, our joints stiffen and our muscles begin to shrink, leading to limited flexibility and decreased mobility. Fortunately, routine stretching can help seniors roll back the clock on this loss of flexibility and mobility. Furthermore, stretching has innumerable health benefits, such as reduced soreness, increased immunity, and reduced stress. Hopefully, you’ve found a few stretches in this guide to help improve your stiffness and range of motion,
To learn more about staying in shape, check out our helpful guides:
Experts recommend that adults over 50 stretch daily.
Individuals 65 and older should hold each stretch for 30 to 60 seconds and perform three repetitions.
Yes. Even older adults with arthritis can significantly improve their flexibility through regular stretching and other physical activity.
The best time to stretch is after a workout or before going to sleep. However, the medical community has varying opinions about the ideal time of day for stretching.