The Importance of Exercise For The Elderly - Preventive & Curative

Strength exercises enhance muscle strength. It includes wrist curls, arm curls, side arm raises, elbow extension, chair dips, seated rows, leg raises, knees curls, leg strength, toe stand. It should be limited to 15-20 minutes. Breathing should be regular.

Safety tips while performing these activities:

• Avoid locking of arm and leg joints in strained position.
• If any chair exercises you are performing then always choose a sturdy chair which should not move while you are working out.
• Use smooth and steady movements during your weight training, jerks should be avoided.

Balance exercises along with strengthening exercise are useful to prevent elders from falling. Many elders lose balance easily and injure themselves. Standing on toe, walking heel to toe, back leg raises, side leg raises, hip extension and balance walk are some useful balance exercises.

Some important Safety Tips:

• Don't strain your limbs too much.
• Always use a chair or wall for support so that you can balance well.

Flexibility exercises improve your flexibility and gives free flow of movement for your day to day activities. Few such exercises include like neck stretch, back stretch, shoulder and upper arm stretch, leg stretch, thigh stretch, calf and lower back stretch.

Some important Safety tips:

• Consult your doctor before starting
• Don't stretch your leg ,thighs too much
• Always start slowly.

Yoga is light exercise which immensely improves quality of life. It increases flexibility, loosens stiff joints and has calming effect on your mind. Yoga is meant to be the best activity for massaging your muscles and applying mild amount of pressure on your organs. It also strengthens your muscles and improves blood circulation in the body. You should begin with gentle movements and then go to advance positions.

Safety tips:

• You should always learn yoga from a well trained person.
• Don't try difficult positions when you are alone.
• Learn breathing technique properly if you have to do it alone.
• If you feel pain while doing yoga, stop the practice for a while.