Jackson Hospital | Partners | Summer 2021

12 Jackson Hospital Hamstring stretch Stretches tight hamstring muscles that can cause back pain and reduced hip movement. Sit on the edge of a chair and extend one foot in front of you with your heel on the floor. Straighten your knee and then, while sitting up straight, lean for- ward at the hips until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg. Stretch for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat with the opposite leg. Do this stretch two times in each leg. Variations: • Put a short step stool under your heel to make it easier to lean forward. • Bend the knee on the side being stretched if you feel discomfort in your back. Knee to chest stretch Stretches the lower back and soft tissue in the hips. Lie on a couch or bed, grasp the front of one knee and gently pull your knee toward your chest. You will feel a stretch in your buttocks and lower back. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds and then repeat with the opposite leg. Do this stretch two times for each knee. As the fall months roll in , we sometimes become less active than in the summer months. We may feel tightness in our arms, legs or back. Tight muscles and stiff joints are common, but they can make daily tasks difficult and cause severe pain or limit our movements. Stretching exercises can help us maintain or improve our muscles’ ability to be stretched and our joints’ range of motion. If you sit for a long spell, you may notice your muscles are tight when you get up and move around. This is because our muscles are made of contractile fibers that au- tomatically pull close to one another and shorten when we’re not moving. Over time, muscles can get used to being in this shortened position. Even if you’re active, it’s easy to overlook the benefits of regular stretching as part of a well-rounded exercise regimen. In the short term, stretching improves blood flow to muscle tissue and can decrease general aches and pains. Long-term benefits include improved muscle extensibility; range of motion; posture; and control of your limbs while walking, which can reduce your fall risk. These exercises can be performed three to five times a week, or every day if you can do them without discomfort. Warm up your muscles first with a few minutes of walk- ing. Do these exercises so that you can feel the stretch, but don’t stretch so far that it hurts. If you need to, reduce how far you stretch, how long you hold the stretch or how often you stretch until it becomes more comfortable. Loosen up! Jackson Wellness Center director Heather Logan shares simple stretches to ease tight muscles and stiff joints WELLNESS