1. Do shoulder exercise to relieve shoulder pain
When shoulder pain occurs, many people tend to believe it is a sign of periarthritis (also called frozen shoulder), a condition that leads to pain and stiffness in and around the shoulder joint. In order to relieve the symptoms, they will do more shoulder exercise like internal rotation, stretching up and swings.
However, they might be going in the wrong direction. A rotator cuff injury can also cause shoulder pain. Improper exercise can strain the rotator cuff of the shoulder, causing shoulder pain. A rotator cuff injury cannot be cured by continued exercise, which will only get worse without treating in an appropriate manner.
2. Sit-ups are always good
The set-up is an abdominal endurance training exercise to strengthen the abdominal muscles. Though it is an easy and convenient exercise for young people, it is not suitable for the elderly.
When you do sit-ups, you curl your legs up and elevate both the upper and lower vertebrae from the floor. This involves high compressive lumbar load.
Older people have some common problems in the cervical spine and lumbar spine, in addition to osteoporosis. Doing sit-ups might impose irreversible injury to the cervical and lumbar spine.
Additionally, the activity involves huge head motion, which can increase the blood pressure for people with cardiovascular diseases.
3. Not careful with knees when doing stairs climbing
Stair climbing is considered a convenient fitness exercise program. However, this exercise is not always good. During climbing stairs, the kneecap is forced to slide up and down, causing stress and injury to the knee joint and reducing knee joint diseases.
Similarly, mountain climbing can lead to knee joint injury, and it is considered a risky activity for knee joint injury.
4. Intensive neck rotation brings more benefits
Neck rotation exercise is good for the cervical spine and can also help relieve shoulder aches.
Intensive rotation should be avoided among old people. If you have arteriosclerosis or carotid plaques, the intensive neck rotation exercise will cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and even worse, carotid plaques fall to induce strokes.
Neck rotation should be done in low range and speed. The side-to-side or forth-to back neck rotation shall be done within 180 degrees. Remember to get a rest when a set of neck rotation is finished.
5. Use heat compress to treat exercise injury
Exercise might bring some strains and injuries to our body. Some elderly people will immediately use hot compress and they believe this can promote blood circulation to speed up recovery.
Actually, it is not the right way to treat injury. Cold packs shall be given within 24 hours of exercise injury to shrink the capillaries and reduce bleeding. After 24 hours, heat compress can be used to accelerate blood circulation and relieve swelling and pain.