This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in of . For the original video go to https://youtu.be/VElAIIvcSls
Brad: All right. Flexibility in your legs is so important for your walking and pain reduction. However, if you're a senior, lifting your leg way high to stretch is not going to be something you want to do.
Mike: But, we have five stretches that you can easily do at home and it should only take about five minutes.
Brad: And they're all done in the standing position. Okay, so I did mention these are done in standing. However, to make sure you're safe and there's no chance of a fall, you're going to do one thing. If you have a stairway at home and you have two handrails, those are going to give you stability and you're going to use the steps to stretch. If you don't have that, you can simply have two good chairs that you can hold onto or one chair and hand on the cupboard at home or near the sink and we'll show you the techniques. For all these stretches, it's going to be held for about 5 to 15 seconds depending on what you want, or 5 repetitions. We'll go through that. Now, I did mention if you do not have a stairway, you're going to use chairs except on this first stretch. All you need is a wall or a staircase. So if you have a wall, you simply put your hand on the wall and stagger your stance. We're stretching the calf muscle of the back leg. The one in front is not being stretched. Put your heel towards the ground or on the ground, lock your back leg out straight, and then lean forward using that wall for balance. We're not trying to tear the muscle. Just a gentle stretch, again, up to 15 seconds, or rock 5 times, simply switch legs and do the other leg.
Brad: It's the same technique if you're on the stairs. Again, hold onto those rails for balance and it's the same thing. Make sure the toe does point forward. A common mistake is that the toe points out and then you're not getting a complete stretch.
Mike: So you're going to want to go straightforward. And if, you're not feeling much and you can, you can put your other foot on the stair as well and lean forward more and get more of a calf stretch, but only if it feels good.
Brad: That's right. Okay, let's go to number two.
Mike: Okay. The next stretch we're going to do is to stretch the hamstrings, which run from your buttock down to the knee, and you've got three of them on each leg. So you're going to bring your leg straight up on a step, whatever you can lift your height to. Higher up is going to be a little more of a stretch. Hold on to both sides. And if you feel it in the back of your leg, that's fine. If you don't feel much of a stretch, just bend forward, but keep a straight back. Don't try to round forward.
Brad: Good. And if you do not have the stairs, what you're going to do is like I mentioned, use two chairs or a chair and your cupboard, then you need a stool that does not have wheels and is steady. My stool has two steps. I may start on the bottom step or I may go up on the second, which is a little more aggressive. Start low, keep that back straight, and lean forward. Now for me personally, I lean into it on the first step and I can start to feel that stretch already. This is not a stretch to make a lot of pain, just a gentle stretch is all we're looking for. And you may go up to the second level right away or it might take a week or two, or maybe you'll always stay at the first level and that's fine. We're not trying to go to the Olympics, we're just stretching those muscles and getting them relaxed and the circulation improved.
Mike: You should probably show too that you want to make sure your leg is straight out in front of you. Don't try to angle out. You're not going to get a hamstringing stretch this way.
Brad: Good point. So we're looking straight ahead. Not turning to the side. Okay, again, balance and safety. If you do not feel steady with this, do not do it.
Mike: So the next stretch, we're going to stretch the hip flexors, which are in the front of the hip. They're big, strong muscles. We're going to stretch the right one. So the left foot is going to go on the step and the right one is going to stay back. You're going to try to keep an upright posture, lean forward if you feel safe, keep the toe pointed straight ahead like we did earlier, and you should feel a stretch right in the front of your hip. The more you lean, the more stretch you'll get.
Brad: And I do want to mention, that you do not have to go up to the taller step like Mike did. It might be that step depending on your flexibility. Now the hip flexor muscles tighten up if you sit a lot throughout the day, which some people will. You may go between the two chairs or the cupboard without the steps and simply stretch with that staggered stance and leaning forward and get an adequate stretch. It's important, where you put your hand in your pocket is where you want to feel that stretch. This one, I like to go on and off, but you can hold it. While you do these, relax and breathe. Make sure you do both legs. There you go. What do you say, Mike?
Mike: I want to emphasize, that you want to make sure your posture is upright when you're doing it. You're not going to feel the stretch if you're leaning forward because the muscle is right here in the pocket like Brad said.
Brad: All right, let's go to the next one.
Mike: So the last exercise is more of a movement and it's called a pendulum. A lot of people may have experience with this with their shoulders if they've had shoulder rehab, but you're just going to kind of swing your legs back and forth. You're not going to do a forceful kick. Your leg is supposed to be kind of relaxed and you just let it go forward and back. And you can also try to do it side to side.
Brad: I want to emphasize as you're letting the leg swing, it's very gentle. Again, Mike said, you're not trying to kick out but think about going back a little bit to help stretch that hip. Also, if I'm holding on to the chair, this is a nice way to get that side-to-side motion, and very relaxed, breathing.
Mike: It's important to mention you also don't want to swing your body down to get more backward momentum. So keep an upright posture as you're doing this.
Brad: Shoulders, head, stay still. They're not moving around. Just let the leg swing. This is a great one for that hip joint if you have hip arthritis to let that synovial fluid get in that joint and make your walking a little bit better. So I think this is a great set to do before a walk. Take a few minutes, do these, then go for your walk. Your walking's going to feel better and you'll probably go a little bit farther and enjoy the day more. So keep those hips and legs flexible, pain-free, and ...
Mike: Happy.
Brad: Whatever you want, Mike. Keep them happy.
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