LEG LESSONS:
The muscles and joints to pay attention to the most.
This article is a primer for how to take care of your legs if you are older.
Difficulty walking is an important marker in the aging process. If walking is difficult then many other things become problematic including being able to remain active, the most significant factor affecting older age. If we begin taking better care of our legs as or before walking becomes difficult then the quality of life we experience in our older years is far better. (Foot care, not included in these recommendations, is covered thoroughly in other Balance News articles. Links appear at the article end.)
Difficulty walking is an important marker in the aging process. If walking is difficult then many other things become problematic including being able to remain active, the most significant factor affecting older age. If we begin taking better care of our legs as or before walking becomes difficult then the quality of life we experience in our older years is far better. (Foot care, not included in these recommendations, is covered thoroughly in other Balance News articles. Links appear at the article end.)
The leg muscles, what we need to do and why:
- Quadriceps (thighs): strengthen and stretch. The quads weaken with inactivity. In general we loose 1% of our muscle mass every year after the age of 50. The quads are significantly affected. The feeling of weakness in the legs comes primarily from a lack of vitality in these muscles.
- Hamstrings/Calf muscles: stretch. The muscles on the back of the legs shorten and tighten with inactivity from extended sitting as well as from walking without stretching. One result are debilitating and painful leg cramps, especially at night.
- Knee muscles: strengthen. Our knees suffer from abrasive treatment all our lives to arrive in older age with significant trauma and inflammation. Increasing the strength of the muscles surrounding the knees takes stress off the joints and improves knee health.
The joints:
Remember that aging is in general a joint situation. Stiffness is the enemy of the joints. Inactivity is a primary culprit. The knees in particular are affected and when the knees are stiff many other things are strongly influenced like walking and balance. It is important to keep the knee and hip joints "lubricated" by making certain to move them frequently. Circling is highly recommended.
Best actions to take because we are older, in order of positive health impact:
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Circle your knees (recommended exercises are in bold text below with links highlighted for instructions):
Stiff knees are pervasive in the elder community. When the knees are stiff, energy is cut off to the lower legs and feet, negatively impacting circulation, balance and stability. You are also far more likely to shuffle your feet, a prominent contributing factor in falls. In my opinion, stiffened knees are responsible for us going downhill as we age more than any other factor.
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Seated or standing knee circles: These simple exercises improve knee joint agility immediately. They are the foundation exercises for recuperative knee health. Either version is very effective.
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Stretch the muscles on the back of the legs:
If you walk then it is very important to prioritize stretching the hamstrings and calves regularly. This is true if you spend a lot of time sitting as well. Both activities shorten the muscles at the back of the legs. Leg cramps often result. But short hamstring/calf muscles affect other issues like problems with your feet and your lower back. Tight backs of legs are one of the sign posts of age alarm.
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Seated: Flex your foot while you straighten your leg. Standing: The Runners' Stretch.
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Strengthen your knees:
The knees are vulnerable. They occupy a central position in the body and when inflamed, affect us in myriad ways. In recent years joint replacements have become more and more common and knee replacement surgery is difficult to recover from. One important way to improve the health of your knees is to strengthen the support muscles that surround them. This is especially important for those who have problems with their knees. Strengthening the knee stabilizing muscles will take stress off the joint and help it to heal.
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Seated: Knee extension with or without weights.
Standing: Walking, climbing stairs. |
Tip: Exercises that strengthen the knees, automatically strengthen the thigh muscles as well.
Stretch and strengthen your thighs:
The stiffness of inactivity and the loss of muscle mass that comes with aging makes the thighs unhappy. The thigh muscles (the quadriceps) have an inordinate influence on walking. Improving their condition certainly increases how well and how long you can walk.
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Strengthen
Stretch |
Seated: Hold your leg our straight.
Standing: Walking, squats, climbing stairs. Seated: Quadriceps stretch and release described below. Pull the knee into the torso to stretch the thigh (and the knee). Standing: The advanced yoga stretch The Dancer. |
Circle your hips:
Those older are more vulnerable to becoming unstable side to side. We concentrate on walking, moving forward. That means that if we get bumped from the side, we are likely to fall. In effect, the body is stiff laterally. Keeping the hips moving smoothly in different directions is very helpful in increasing sideways agility. The easiest way to do that is with wonderful hip circles. It is actually a simple one step way to improve stability. But hip circles are also wonderful to do when you are tired because they stimulate circulation to the lower body.
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Seated or standing hip circles.
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A luxurious seated full leg massage:
- With both hands massage the top of the thighs and the front of the lower legs by moving your hands downward toward the feet.
- Bring the hands to the back of the calves and draw them upward toward the knees.
- Stop at the back of the knees and gently lift to release the knee joints.
- Bring the hands up and across the back of the thighs (the hamstrings).
- Take both hands to the lower back and gently massage the sacrum, bringing warmth into this central spot of your lower body.
- Move your hands from your lower back and bring them around your hips to begin again at the top of the thighs.
- Make this a continuous movement.
You are massaging the legs in the direction of the grain of the various muscles involved. This has the effect of relaxing the muscles and reorganizing how your legs work, a very positive development that can be practiced any time to great effect.
Loving the quadriceps:
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The quads are essentially our thigh muscles. You can easily feel them in action. Sit in a sturdy chair, stretch out your leg and hold it there. Place your hand on the top of your thigh and you will feel bulges. That is the set of 4 muscles that make up what we call the quadriceps. The quads are responsible for straightening the knee and are essential in walking.
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Our quads weaken and tighten significantly with inactivity. One less realized consequence is that the knees become stressed with contracted tight quads, exacerbating knee joint stiffness. Those confined to wheelchairs are especially affected. After time it becomes more and more difficult to straighten the knees.
One way to relax tight thigh muscles:
1) First release your lower back:
- Sit toward the front of a sturdy chair, lower back upright, feet on the ground, legs apart, knees over feet.
- Tilt forward and back to release the hip joints.
- Tilt forward and sit with your elbows on your knees, head in line with your spine to release lower back tension.
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A word about your elbows on your knees: As you sit like this, feel for your knee caps. They will be on the front of your knees rather than the top. The top of the knees holds all the thigh's ligaments, tendons and muscles as they insert above the knee. Placing pressure in that area helps to release the tension of the quadriceps. So as you place your elbows (or your hands) on your knees, allow your weight to pour down through your arms and into those tissues, releasing strain.
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2) Relax your quadriceps:
- Tilt yourself slightly forward.
- Use your torso body weight to apply gentle pressure.
- Press downward onto the thighs with your hands in sequence, first above your knees, then moving toward the hips, pressing down every few inches upon the breadth of the quadriceps. You can use the weight of your torso rocking forward and back to enhance this static massage.
- Finally place the heel of both hands on the crease in the hip joint and press firmly downward to gently open the joint.
- Starting at the top of the thighs, take the heels of the hands and press them down and out toward the knee, "ironing" out any tension in the quad muscles.
- Pull the knee up and into your chest to stretch the thigh (and knee as well).
Behaviors to avoid:
- Extended sitting without stretching your legs out: Move for 5 minutes out of every 30 minutes of sitting.
- Extended walking without stretching the back of the legs: Stretch the back of each leg for 45 seconds before bedtime.
Helpful links to other Balance News articles:
Published July 4, 2023.