Dr. J. Michael Flynn July 2017
Many "Baby Boomers" will remember the popular children's television series Romper Room that began in 1953. Since January 2011, and for the next nineteen years, 10,000 baby boomers have reached the age of 65 every single day.
"Romper Room" was a morning television show that continued until 1994 and targeted preschoolers. The author Robert Fulhgum wrote in 1986 a book called "All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." It is a good read and talks about living our lives simply and kindly.
Every episode of "Romper Room" began with the preschoolers reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and during the next 60 minutes the teacher and her group of children would play games, exercise, sing songs and learn moral lessons like being polite to others. One of the lessons taught by song was on the importance of stretching.
“Bend and stretch, reach for the sky. Stand on tippy toes, oh,oh,so high!”
Stretching is an important lesson for preschoolers to baby boomers and to all ages. The most obvious benefit of stretching is to improve joint flexibility and range of motion. There are 360 joints in the human body. There are 86 skull joints, six throat joints, 66 thorax joints and 76 in your spine and pelvis. Also, there are 32 joints in each upper limb and 31 in each lower limb. Two bones in our body meet to form a joint. Joints make our body flexible and provide movements.
Muscles are also necessary for movement. They are the masses of tough, elastic tissue that pull our bones when we move. Together our bones, muscles and joints along with tendons, ligaments and cartilage make up our musculoskeletal system and enable us to do every day physical activity.
A lack of flexibility can cause our movements to become slower and susceptible to painful muscle strains or other soft tissue injuries. Stretching can keep the body's joints, tendons and ligaments lubricated by increasing circulation while improving posture and balance. Tense and tight muscles require daily stretching. One example is someone who sits in a chair for most of the day. This results in tight hamstrings, the large muscle in the back of the thigh which can affect the flexibility of the hips, lower back and knees. Research has shown that those who sit should stretch at least once each hour.
Stretching should always be gentle and there are specific stretching movements for different parts of the body. Stretching should be part of your everyday routine for better flexibility and posture - it only takes minutes to accomplish. For specific instructions visit with a chiropractor or physical therapist who specializes in joint motion and posture. Athletic and personal trainers are trained to give advice on stretching as are massage therapists.
Yoga and Tai Chi instructors are also very good at teaching proper stretching techniques and many predict that their business will continue to grow as more of us appreciate how vital stretching is to better health and wellness.
Published in POV Magazine August 2017