Our bodies, when young, in most cases, are kind of really great. With minimal aches and pains, we can get up and out of bed easily (though reluctantly), sit and stand without assistance, and we can get through the day without assistance needed physically. But, that can change.
Bodies Grow Weary
Like with most things, with time, we will wear out. We will grow old and tired and sore because our vessels can only hold us up for so long. In time, our joints will begin to ache, and we will begin to lose our ability to perform daily tasks. We won’t ever be as nimble as we were in our youth, but there are things that we can do to prevent us from losing too much of our abilities to do things. We can stretch to maintain muscle health and flexibility. These are important factors to preventing aches and pains and preserving independence.
Our Bodies as we Age
As we age, we lose flexibility in our muscles and tendons as they shorten and stiffen and stop functioning properly. Our range of motion will decrease and pain will increase. Even bending down to tie our shoes will become difficult and maybe put our backs out of commission for days. Muscle cramps and pain and damage, strains, joint pain and falling are some of the things we’ll be at risk for if we don’t take care of our bodies now, but we most certainly can take care of our bodies now. We can stretch. Stretching helps maintain flexibility which then increases our range of motion. For example, the distance from fingers to shoelaces is not only a far distance away, it also requires multiple muscle groups to be put to work. Stretching allows for our backs to bend and knees to fold and fingers to tie our shoelaces.
Now What?
So, what do we do with this information? We take it with a grain of salt and then we go stretch. Start gentle with easy repetitive motions like marching in place. Then we start stretching our muscles, holding positions that stretch out calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, shoulders, neck and lower back. Just don’t push it into pain because your muscles will tighten and your stretching then will become counterproductive.
To Conclude
Do things to try to keep your bodies as healthy as possible, because while we can’t deny the fact that sometimes, we get really unlucky, but what if we do get that lucky? What if we do get to grow old? We wouldn’t want to be in pain. Now remember, I’m a random person on the internet, you’ve got a brain, try your best out there, and good luck.
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