At the age of 60, stiffness mostly stems from the habit of sitting a lot, exercising little, or joints being less activated. A sturdy chair is a safe support to help you move the main joints, gradually regaining flexibility and comfort in daily life.
Spinal torsion while sitting
This movement helps restore flexible rotation in the middle back - an area that is often stiff due to age and prolonged sitting posture. Rotation of the spine is essential for daily activities such as reaching out to the back, turning around to talk.
Sit up straight, feet flat on the floor, arms crossed in front of chest or slightly knitted behind head. Keep hips facing forward, slowly rotate your upper body to the right to the maximum extent while your body still feels comfortable.
Keep your breathing steady, then bring yourself back to your starting position and continue to rotate to the left. Do 6-8 times in each direction.
Open hip joints while sitting
The exercise directly affects the external rotation mechanism of the hip joint - the amplitude of movement is very easily narrowed over time, hindering familiar operations such as bowing socks, getting in and out of the car, or climbing stairs.
Sit straight on a chair, lift and place your right ankle on your left thigh so that your calves and right knees are open sideways (similar to figure 4).
Keep the back straight, gently bend forward from the hips until you feel a comfortable stretch in the right hip area. Hold the position for 20 - 30 seconds, breathe evenly and then switch sides.
Stretching over your head while sitting
This movement helps the shoulder and upper back joints move beyond their natural range - the amplitude of movement is often reduced due to the habit of sitting with the back bent. Maintaining the flexibility of the shoulders is very important when wearing clothes, combing your hair or reaching for objects up high.
Sit up straight, relax and gently rotate your shoulder joints backwards and then lower them a few times to release tension in the neck and shoulder area. Raise one hand high over your head, gently straighten, hold for a moment and then lower.
You can alternate each hand or stretch both hands at the same time depending on the flexibility of the shoulder joint. Perform 6-8 arm stretches.
