[For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Simple Rehabilitation
Many people make exercise a habit to maintain their health.
Core training is one of the most important forms of rehabilitation: it strengthens the muscles that support posture, helps prevent falls, and supports everyday movements.
Here, we introduce simple core exercises that older adults can do without overexertion.
These methods can be done while seated in a chair and use simple, equipment-free movements, allowing you to train your body safely and effectively.
Start at your own pace and aim for a vibrant daily life in both mind and body!
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[For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Easy Rehab (11–20)
Exercises to strengthen your body’s core
For older adults, falls can easily lead to injuries and are very dangerous.
To prevent falling, it’s important to regularly train your balance.
The exercises introduced here strengthen your body’s central axis, helping stabilize balance when standing and walking, which can reduce the risk of falls.
If your body’s axis is weak, your back tends to round, which can cause a hunched posture and lower back pain.
By strengthening the core, your spine naturally straightens, helping you maintain proper posture and making your body less prone to fatigue.
These exercises can be done while seated, so they’re recommended for anyone.
Exercises to improve kyphotic posture
A hunched back is commonly called a “cat back,” but the technical term is kyphosis.
When your back is rounded, it affects your whole body.
While walking, you may start shuffling your feet, increasing the risk of falls, and your chin naturally tilts upward, which can lead to aspiration.
So let’s try a simple exercise to improve kyphotic posture.
Place both hands on your ribcage and inhale.
The key point is to check that your ribs lift upward.
Then, open your arms out to the sides and raise your head and neck upward.
Keep breathing slowly and hold this position for 10 seconds.
Just this alone can help bring a rounded, backward-leaning posture back toward neutral.
Northern Country Spring Exercises
We would like to introduce an exercise set to the classic song “Kitaguni no Haru,” which most older adults are likely familiar with.
March in place during the intro, then raise and lower your hands, do open-and-close (grip-and-release) movements, and tap your hands, shoulders, and knees.
There are also twisting motions for the neck and torso, so be careful not to overexert yourself.
It’s a good idea to review the movements beforehand if it’s your first time.
When doing this as a recreation activity at a senior facility, giving prompts such as “Next is marching in place,” each time will make it more enjoyable.
Exercises using a wall to prevent slouching
A slouched posture gradually develops unconsciously as we seek a comfortable position, but recalling proper posture can help trigger improvement.
This training helps you remember what a correct back shape looks like while strengthening the muscles that support it.
First, place your arms against a wall and take one step back.
In that stance, look upward and bend and straighten your knees to arch your back properly.
For people with a hunched posture, this applies force in the opposite direction, so be sure to proceed within a comfortable range.
Multifidus training
The multifidus refers to the small muscles attached around the spine.
When the multifidus weakens, your back can become rounded or overextended, which can lead to lower back pain.
That’s why training the multifidus is effective for preventing back pain.
Here’s how: get on all fours with your knees on the floor, extend your right hand forward and your left leg backward, then extend your left hand forward and your right leg backward.
Repeat this movement alternately.
If you’re not used to it, you might wobble and have trouble balancing, so having someone assist you can be reassuring.
It’s important not to arch your lower back while doing the exercise to make the training effective.
indoor fast walking
Walking is considered good for health, and many older adults are already practicing it.
However, some may feel that outdoor walking is a hassle.
For those who find it difficult to go outside or aren’t comfortable with physical activity, walking outdoors might be challenging.
In that case, how about brisk walking indoors? March in place while swinging your legs backward.
If you swing your arms quickly, you’ll work not only your lower body but also your upper body.
It’s said that moving your hands as if to grab the leg that swings back can also strengthen your back muscles.
It’s easy to do, so give it a try.
[For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Easy Rehabilitation (21–30)
Seated back-strengthening exercise
If you’re an older adult with lower back pain, be sure to strengthen your back muscles.
When the back muscles weaken, they can’t support your posture, which can lead to a rounded back and back pain.
Sit in a chair and reach one hand upward from near the toes on the opposite side.
Then lift your hand as if turning your chest up toward the ceiling.
Do this on both sides, but adjust the number of repetitions according to the individual’s condition.
You can also try stretching your back while raising both arms overhead.
Since these exercises are done while seated, it should be easier to keep up with the training consistently.