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Hello everyone and welcome back to the Daily

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Senior Safety Advice podcast. We're going along

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with the theme of March is Mobility and Independence

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Month and today we're going to talk about safe

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chair exercises that you can do at home. I'm

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Esther Cain, a retired occupational therapist

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and a certified aging in place specialist. So

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I want to say this right out of the gate here.

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Exercise does not have to mean standing, sweating,

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or risking a fall. Not at all. Some of the safest,

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most effective movements that you can do happen

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right in a chair. And honestly, this is actually

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one of my favorite topics because it helps so

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many people feel capable again. As an occupational

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therapist working with older adults, I often

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encourage chair exercises when The other forms

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of exercise just weren't feasible or safe. Some

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of the safest, most effective movements you can

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do again are right in a chair. You know, what

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you hear a lot of from older adults is anything

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like, I'm afraid I'll fall if I exercise. Well,

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yeah, because they're thinking of jogging or

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running in place or any type of activity like

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that or They may say something like, I can't

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do what I used to do. Well, that may be true,

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but it doesn't mean that you can't do anything.

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So what I always would tell them is this, your

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body still wants to move. It just wants to feel

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safe while doing it. And that's where chair exercises

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come in. What I've noticed over the years is

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that when people stop moving because they're

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afraid, everything gets harder. Your strength

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tends to fade, your balance can slip, and of

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course your confidence ends up dropping. And

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then everyday tasks start to feel overwhelming.

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So instead of avoiding movement, we bring it

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closer to home and safer. we bring it to a chair.

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And here's where this really matters. Chair exercises

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can improve circulation, joint movement, strength,

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posture, and even your mood, all without standing.

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So let's walk through this together, some of

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the most basic and simple exercises that you

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can start off with. So first thing though, before

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we get to exercise, I do want to say the chair

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itself matters. You want a sturdy chair, nothing

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with wheels, nothing that swivels, and if possible,

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one with arms, because it just makes it a little

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easier and safer. All right. Feet flat on the

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floor at all times. keep your back supported

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up against the back of the chair if that's too

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far then put a pillow back there like a lumbar

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pillow and then that's it you're ready to to

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start So let's start with something simple, a

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seated march. You're sitting tall in your chair,

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your nice sturdy chair, and if you have arms

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it would be great to put your arms on those arms.

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You lift one knee up just a little, then set

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it down, and then the other knee, and that's

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it. And this helps to wake up your hips, it helps

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with circulation, it helps with the strength

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of your your thigh muscles and it connects directly

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to walking and you keep marching in place while

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you're sitting. If you want to do it to music

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that's great. I would always tell my patients

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that one way they can do it is while they're

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watching television they could be sitting in

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a comfortable chair that's sturdy and they can

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then march in place during the commercials. Although

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I will say nowadays the commercials are really

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long so you may want to do it one or two commercials

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Now let's talk about leg strength because this

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is huge for getting out of chairs and staying

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independent Straighten one leg out in front of

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you hold it for a second then lower it back down

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and then switch sides You're working the muscles

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that help you stand, walk, and climb steps, and

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you're doing it safely because you're doing it

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from a chair. If you feel tired, you pause. No

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rush. Now let's move up to the arms because upper

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body strength matters more than people actually

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think. You use your arms for balance, for pushing

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up from chairs, for catching yourself if you

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stumble. So here's an easy one. Seated arm raises.

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Lift one arm forward or up toward the ceiling,

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then bring it back down and switch arms. You

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don't have to lift, excuse me, lift high, just

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what feels comfortable. And if possible, if you

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can do it with a one pound weight, a two pound

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weight, or if you're fairly strong, a five pound

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weight or more. If you're holding these weights

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or if you don't have weights, you can use soup

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cans or water bottles. That'd be fine too. But

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you don't necessarily need them. It just depends

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on what level you're at. It's the movement alone

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that really counts. Now here's a favorite of

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mine for posture and breathing. I do this often

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because I work at a desk all day. Seated shoulder

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rolls. You're sitting down, posture up, and you

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roll your shoulders forward, and then you roll

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them back. And then you just keep doing that

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a few times, forward and back, and forward and

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back. And you can do it five times, ten times,

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whatever you're comfortable with. This helps

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to open up the chest, it eases the tension in

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your neck, and it reminds your body what upright

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posture actually feels like. I myself can suffer

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from upper back pain and that really helps me

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a lot. Now let's talk about ankles and feet because

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people usually forget about exercising ankles

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and feet and actually they're pretty critical

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for balance. You can lift your toes up, but while

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both feet are on the flat on the ground lift

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your toes up while keeping your heels down on

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the ground and then lower them and then lift

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your heels up while keeping your toes on the

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ground and then lower them and Just keep going

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back and forth like this. You're just swinging

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back and forth but what I would do is I would

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lift my toes up and hold for one two three and

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then put it down lift your heels up one two three

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and hold it down And if you're strengthening

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the muscles, that can strengthen the muscles

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to help prevent tripping. But if you want to

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strengthen your muscles even more, if you find

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the exercise too easy, then put a little weight

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on your knees so that when you're going up, especially

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with your toes down and your heels up, you're

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pushing up against some weight. You can also

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put one foot out and make gentle circles with

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your ankles. Some circles to the right and then

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some circles to the left and make it slow and

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controlled. It's not meant to go fast. It's just

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the idea of giving it some movement. This is

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especially helpful if your feet feel stiff in

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the morning or maybe after sitting for a while.

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All right, now let's talk about core strength.

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You know, that strength in the middle of your

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trunk without sit -ups or strain. You want to

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sit tall in your chair. You want to gently tighten

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your belly muscles like you're bracing for a

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cough. Hold for a few seconds and then relax.

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And you keep doing that and I would do that several

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times, three, five, ten times, whatever is comfortable

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for you. This helps to support the spine, it

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helps to strengthen those core muscles, it helps

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your posture, and it makes movements like reaching

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and standing a bit safer. Nothing extreme, just

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awareness. Now here's something that I always

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like to add, a little stretch, and it's called

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seated reaching. you're going to take one arm

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while you're sitting up straight you're going

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to reach with one arm across your body so take

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your right arm and reach all the way to the left

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without turning your trunk and then come back

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and then do the same with the left arm and reach

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all the way to the right without turning your

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trunk and then coming back this helps with rotation

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flexibility coordination And it connects to real

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life movements, like reaching for something on

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a table. I would do several without turning the

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trunk, just so you can get that really good stretch

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in the upper body. And then I would do several

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with turning the trunk. That way you get a really

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good stretch along your core muscles, along your

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trunk. And honestly, these exercises don't have

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to be done all at once. You can do a few in the

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morning, a few during TV commercials, a few while

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you're waiting for the mug, the hot water in

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the microwave to boil for your coffee or tea.

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That's usually when I see people stick with it,

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when you do a few exercises throughout the day.

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So if you're a caregiver for an older adult,

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this is something that the both of you can do

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together, side by side, no pressure, no comparison.

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Movement can become a shared time, not just another

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task. And here's something important that I want

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to say. If anything, if any of these movements

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cause pain, dizziness, or discomfort, stop. Rest.

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and adjust the movement. Of course it's always

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important to speak with your physician and if

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possible get a physical therapist to come in

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to assess how you do these movements because

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a lot of times we think we're doing the movements

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correctly. but we may not be there may be a better

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way to do them. So don't be afraid to ask your

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doctor for a referral for physical therapy either

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outpatient therapy or for physical therapists

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to come to your home and just show you some of

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these exercises these chair exercises that can

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help you with you know to be more flexible and

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have decreased overall body pain. So over time

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while you're doing these exercises something

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really really great tends to happen. You tend

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to trust your body again. You feel stronger,

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you feel more stable, and you're more willing

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to move. I mean chair exercises can really help

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to reduce fall risk simply because people feel

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more prepared to move and they're not in that

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stiff kind of little achy pain that you feel

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as you get older. I know I certainly feel that

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every morning. And that's the goal at the end

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of the day is to reduce the fall risk, feeling

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ready for life and not afraid of it. So start

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where you are, use what you have, and remember,

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movement doesn't have to be big and powerful.

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Well, that's all I have for you today. I want

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to thank you again so much for being here with

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me. If today's episode gave you some useful insights

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or some new ideas, then please share it with

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someone. who might find it helpful as well. You

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can discover even more expert tips and helpful

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guides for seniors and caregivers at our website

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at seniorsafetyadvice .com. And if you're searching

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for an Aging in Place specialist or senior care

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services, then visit our other website at aginginplacedirectory

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.com. And come back tomorrow for more useful

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tips, insights, and ideas right here on the Daily

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Senior Safety Advice Podcast. and hey listen

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if you haven't yet subscribed to our youtube

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channel or the podcast yet then please go ahead

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us to reach more people who could use this kind

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of support and information so until next time

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take care of yourself and the ones that you love