With age comes restricted mobility and stiffness, which can be avoided by adopting some simple yet healthy habits.
The actual reason for the limited mobility is not the age itself but lack of movements, when you stop using all your joints during regular motions, your body follows that by reducing the overall range.
Here are some simple, strategic habits that can help you avoid any mobility issues:
1. Whole body movement
Everyday tasks such as pulling door, reaching for an object or squatting to grab something require you to utilise all the joints.
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Hence, to avoid any issues, one need to adapt simple exercise pattern, which include all three planes of motion; sagittal (forward and backward), frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotational).
2. Through out the day movement
Most work places require you to sit for long hours in order to finish up your work, which can lead to tight hips and weaker postural muscles.
The body movement should not be restricted to just workout time, but should extend throughout the day, instead of sitting for multiple hours without getting up.
3. Five minutes of mobility
Committing yourself to minimum of just five minutes of simple workout in the morning can have a notable effect on your daily life.
Short mobility routine including posture exercises at your desk, or morning yoga done consistently can make a dramatic difference over time.
It also gives you a chance to communicate with your body, to check if everything is good, or if there is any muscle that is causing pain, or need to be checked by a physician.
4. Strength training
Strength exercises support mobility by keeping joint stable and preserving muscle mas to prevent stiffness-related weakness.
Even just two short 10-minutes strength sessions per week can provide benefits.
5. Focus on Breathing pattern
In order to move without much worry, you need to focus on your breathing patterns.
Shallow chest breathing creates excess tension in the neck, shoulders and rib cage, leading to chronic pain.
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Throughout the day, try to focus diaphragmatic breathing, in which inhales expand the lower ribs more than upper chest.
