Stretching is crucial at any stage of life but becomes increasingly important as we age. Experts emphasize that regular stretching improves quality of life and helps prevent pain and injuries.
MTN News reporter Shiksha Mahtani talked with Karin Steinke, a physical therapist with 35 years of experience currently working at Benefis Health System, about the importance of stretching and its impact on our daily lives.
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"It's so important that we stretch because it improves our life. It improves what we can do and it allows us to stay more active. It also helps us decrease the potential of having issues with pain and having issues with injuries," Steinke said.
The majority of pains we suffer from are related to a lack of flexibility. Stretching increases blood flow and loosens tight muscles that may have stiffened over time. Daily stretches help maintain mobility in joints.
When asked if it's ever too late to begin a stretching program, Steinke was emphatic.
"No no, no, we can start exercise anytime... 100 years old if you want to do it… You can start at any time of your life," Steinke said.
One common issue Steinke encounters as a physical therapist is foot pain, which can directly result from lack of flexibility. This can alter how you walk and affect your overall balance as you age.
"It starts to change how you walk, and then you start to have issues with pain of the feet, and then you can't walk as much. It starts to affect your balance. And then after a while the person does less activity and before you know it, they become more deconditioned. And so, it just kind of gets this ball rolling if you don't maintain your flexibility," Steinke said.
While physical therapy strategies target specific muscles and aid recovery, yoga offers a complementary approach combining flexibility, strength, and mindfulness for long-term mobility and wellness.
Nicole Frieling, owner of Habit Yoga Studio in Great Falls, who has practiced yoga for 12 to 15 years, explains how yoga and stretching benefit overall health and mobility.
"Yoga is unique in the sense that it is very much a comprehensive approach to well-being. It includes physical, mental and emotional," Frieling said.
Frieling emphasizes that yoga and stretching benefit people of all ages and promote flexibility throughout the body.
"As we stretch and we lengthen our muscles… we're actually providing lubrication to the joints," Frieling said.
This joint lubrication helps prevent pain in weight-bearing joints like hips, knees, and shoulders. Routine stretching with care and attention provides long-term benefits that make everyday activities easier.
"Reaching up into a cupboard to grab a glass. You're reaching up on your tiptoes. You're asking that side body to fully stretch. We never stretch that side body. That's a foreign experience to the body. But if I'm daily, you know, breathing into my ribs and reaching up and over, that makes my daily activity that much easier," Frieling said.
When asked if it's ever too late to start yoga and stretching, Frieling was clear:
"You are never too old, and you are never too young. You are never not enough, or just too much. You’re never nothing, to be enough for yoga. Yoga is for everybody and every body," Frieling said.
Steinke reinforced the importance of movement for quality of life.
"I just think for quality of life, we have got to start thinking about moving. And that's where stretching really comes into play, because we have got to give ourselves the room to move with our body in order to do the things we want to do," Steinke said.
