Contents:
- Medical Video: Back Stretches that Ease Stiffness & Increase Flexibility
- Various types of joint sports to increase body flexibility
- 1. Shoulder pass through
- 2. Half circle neck
- 3. Ankle mobility
- 4. Thoracic spine windmills
- 5. Walking hip openers
Medical Video: Back Stretches that Ease Stiffness & Increase Flexibility
Have you ever felt a tight and stiff muscle when stretching? Adam Rivadeneyra, MD, a sports doctor at the Hoag Orthopedic Institute and Orthopedic Specialty Institute, California, stated that rigid joints will make the body unable to move freely to move. Even moving will hurt. That's a sign that you need to move more so that your joints become more flexible. What are the best types of joint exercise?
Various types of joint sports to increase body flexibility
Here are various joint sports that you can practice at home, namely:
1. Shoulder pass through
Stretching your shoulders before exercising helps improve your posture and prevents you from injury. This exercise involves several muscles such as the chest, upper back, front shoulder muscles, and rotator cuff muscles (shoulder stabilizer). To do this exercise, you need a broom or pipe as a tool.
Following are the steps:
- Take a broom and hold both ends with your hands horizontally.
- Stand up straight and open feet shoulder width apart.
- Lift the broom slowly to the back of your head as best you can.
- Hold the final position for two seconds before returning to the starting position.
- Repeat this movement five times.
2. Half circle neck
The neck includes body parts that need to be stretched. Because the neck is stiff and not flexible can bring various problems not only in the neck but also in the head and upper back. Therefore, you can do this one joint exercise to help flex and maximize its function.
Following are the steps:
- Sit in a cross-legged position and place your hands on your lap.
- Tilt your head to one side until the muscles feel attracted.
- Turn your head slowly forward until your chin touches your upper chest.
- Repeat three times.
- Then do the same thing on the other side of the neck.
3. Ankle mobility
Stretching the ankle joints helps maintain body balance, especially when doing sports such as squats and deadlifts. To do this one joint exercise, you can take various stages such as:
- Stand upright facing the wall.
- Place one hand on the wall to help maintain balance.
- Lift your foot off the footing with a position like tiptoeing alternately forward and backward.
- Repeat the movement 10 times.
4. Thoracic spine windmills
These joint sports help maximize joint mobility in the thoracic spine, which is from the base of the neck to the area between the shoulder blades. By flexing this one part of your body, you can move and rotate your arm freely. This exercise involves the upper back muscles, spinal stabilizing muscles, core muscles, and abdominal muscles. Do it by:
- Lie on your side on the floor.
- Bend one of the legs at the top and leave the foot on the floor straight.
- Place a pillow or towel under the bent knee.
- Align your hands in front of your chest and stack your palms face to face.
- Lift your upper arm slowly and aim back until your body position that has been sideways becomes half supine.
- Repeat five times on each side and do the same on the other side.
5. Walking hip openers
Hip joints include body parts that can move in any direction. Therefore, before exercising it's good to warm up in the hip muscles and surrounding areas so that balance and flexibility are maintained. In this exercise there are quite a number of muscles that play, namely glutes, hip flexors, hip extensors, and other muscles around the hips.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Stand and open feet hip-width apart.
- Place both hands on the hips.
- Lift one side of the foot to the front of the chest and make a circular motion with the foot position still like bending.
- Repeat 10 times with five times clockwise and five counterclockwise turns.
- Do the same movement for the other side.
