COVID At Home Exercises
Many of us have been severely impacted by the COVID lockdown. Many of our patients, especially our elderly patients, have had difficulty maintaining their mobility at home because they’re not able to do their daily walk, go hopping, or visit family. So with that in mind, we would like to share a series of exercises for our patients that would benefit those who feel like they can’t get regular activity due to that lockdown. These exercises are designed for our mobility challenged clients, but can also be done by anyone looking for a way to raise their heart rate and improve their strength and balance. We recommend that anyone over the age of 60 should be doing these exercises regularly to help maintain their health.
Without further ado, let’s get to listing these exercises. Each exercise will have a link to a video on how to perform the exercise.
Stationary Marching - This exercise is great because it’s very similar to walking, but can keep us safe because we can use a chair or countertop to help maintain balance. To increase the difficulty of this exercise try to control the speed at which you march so you spend more time standing on one leg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWItbongRzQ
Sit to stand - This exercise is one of the most fundamental exercises we can provide to any of our patients. As we age we forget how to perform this activity without the help of our arms. If you notice getting out of a chair or off the couch is getting hard, try incorporating this exercise throughout the day. Try to avoid using your arms to help with the motion, but it’s ok if you need to use them to do the exercise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8jzTzKUcA
Side Stepping - This exercise is great for our ability to move around objects. We spend most of our time walking in a straight line, but we also need to be able to move sideways and maintain our balance while we do so. This exercise can be performed at a countertop or along a wall to help with balance. This video shows a band around the knees, but it can also be performed without a band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0jsl2ZrXug
Step Ups/Downs - Most people have at least one stair in their house, even if it’s just the 1 stair going from the garage into the house, while some of us might have multiple stories in the house. Either way, this exercise is great for keeping our general mobility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC67BUNGWWI
Heel raises - This exercise is great to keep our lower legs strong. We don’t often think about the strength of our calves, but calf strength is very important for proper walking patterns. It also helps with stair activity and balance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3qQrxPEhHA
All of these exercises are functional motions that we do everyday, even if we don’t think about it. By creating a home exercise routine involving these exercises we can keep our legs strong during the COVID pandemic, even while staying safe at home.
*General disclaimer - This blog post is designed for information purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you’re concerned about your mobility at home or balance it may be prudent to talk with your medical doctor about possible physical therapy intervention.*