Dr. Curtis McElroy

Tag: stretching

  • Simple Exercises To Prevent Tech Neck

    Simple Exercises You Can Do To Prevent Tech Neck

    Prevention of “tech neck” is better than treatment any day.

    If you begin using these tips and exercises now, you can prevent actual damage that will need medical attention.

    Here are a few tips and exercises you can do to prevent “tech neck”:

    Walk away. Really. Put down your mobile device, walk away from the laptop or desktop and go for a walk. Or stretch your arms and legs to release the tension. It would be a great time to go for a 15-minute walk around the house, the park, the parking lot. If you have a favorite exercise like yoga or hula hoop, do it.

    Skincare. Just as you take care of your face with moisturizers and cleansers, do the same with your neck. Neck skin is delicate and two times thinner than the skin on your face. This is why neck wrinkles will happen before facial wrinkles will. And, “tech neck” certainly contributes to wrinkles on the neck. So, take care of your neck as you do your face.

    Stop resting your chin on your hands. When looking at your laptop or desktop monitor, resting your chin on your hands leads to stretching the skin around your neck. The same is true when you bend your neck to hold your phone while taking phones calls. Use headphones, prevent wrinkles.

    Side stretch neck exercise. Place four of your right-hand fingers on the left side of your forehead, and then place your left hand on your shoulder. With your right elbow parallel to the floor, gently pull your head to the right and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

    Tilt stretch neck exercise. You will need a hand towel. Hold the ends of the towel in each hand, wrap the middle of the towel around the back of your head, gently pull your head down and use your neck muscles to resist. Repeat 8 times. Do this gently and slowly.

    Neck and hand stretch. Stand with your feet in line with your hips. Put the palm of your hand against the side of your head. Your elbow is in line with your shoulder and your upper arm is in line with the floor. Standing straight, gently push the palm of your hand against your head, pushing your head toward your shoulder. You will feel a gentle stretch in your neck. Hold for 10 seconds, and then slowly return to the starting position and switch sides. This should be painful – if it is, you are pushing too hard or holding longer than 10 seconds.

    Do these tips and exercises now and you will not only prevent “tech neck” but you will develop a healthy physical routine that will benefit your mind and body for years to come.

  • Why Everyone Should Stretch

    whyeveryoneshouldstretch

  • Exercise After 50- What You Should Be Doing

    What Exercise Should You Be Doing After 50

    The mistake many make is stopping exercise altogether as they age.

    This is one of the worst things you can do to your body at a time when exercise is needed more than ever.

    The aging process hastens breakdown of muscle and connective tissue, and can leave you immobile if you sit there and do nothing about it.

    Already over 50?

    It is never too late to start improving your health with exercise.

    The following are exercises you should be incorporating into your fitness plan:

    Aerobics

    Aerobics, also known as cardio or cardiovascular exercise, is important at any point of life, but even more so as we get older.aerobicexercise

    Aerobic exercise plays an important part in maintaining the health of various organ systems, including the heart, lungs and brain.

    Though there are many different types of aerobic exercise, it is best to start with a low-impact variety, to safeguard the safety of the joints until it is established that you can handle more.

     

    Be sure to include the following types of aerobics:
    • Swimming
    • Cycling (including stationary bikes)
    • Walking
    • Jogging

    Strength Training

    Far too many people associate strength training with becoming a bodybuilder or some other strong man type of athlete, but in reality your body needs resistance to stay functional.

    People that weight train regularly, especially older persons, have a greatly decreased risk of fractures, pain, and immobility due to muscle atrophy.

    You need to perform at least basic strength training, which entails using your bodyweight. Added resistance is good, but do it only when you feel you are capable.weighttraining

    Be sure to include the following movements into your regime:
    • Squats
    • Bench presses
    • Push ups
    • Pull up/ assisted pull ups
    • Lat pull downs shoulder presses
    • Deadlifts / hyperextensions
    • Triceps presses
    • Dumbbell curls

    If you have preexisting joint issues, you can substitute one exercise with another. For example, removing the squat and using leg extensions instead.strengthtraining

    Flexibility Training

    The single most underrated aspect of any training program has got to be the flexibility component. The reasons are simple enough to understand, after all, you don’t see any immediate benefit to doing it, so why should you? But there’s another way to look at flexibility training- as insurance.flexibilitytraining

    Think of flexibility training as the insurance that safeguards you in the eventuality of the worst outcome, in this case immobility or injury.

     

    Flexibility training has numerous benefits on a body aged over 50, such as:

    • Decreases Pain Following Training- part of the reason muscles and joints ache after a workout is because of an inability of muscles to elongate back, or when they do they place undue stress on connective tissue.
    • Promotes Balance- loss of balance occurs frequently as we age, due in large part to loss of muscle mass, but also to stiff connective tissue. Flexibility training can significantly help you maintain balance as you age.

    Include these in your flexibility training to reap the benefits:

    • Dynamic Stretches- these are stretches performed prior to your workout to get the muscle and connective tissue loose and ready for activity. This significantly helps to reduce the risk of injury during an active workout set.stretching
    • Static Stretches- these are stretches performed after working out a muscle group, to relieve muscle tension. Static stretches help stretch the muscle fibers and reduce pain after your workout.

    Conclusion

    Maintaining the integrity of the joints, heart and muscles requires incorporating some aspects of all the exercises listed above.

    Staying mobile will definitely contribute to optimal health and longevity in the future.

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy