5 Seated Exercises For Seniors To Improve Health And Comfort

Physical activity is necessary for every stage of our life. Thus, having a list of seated exercises for seniors to do every day can be helpful to combat back pain and other ailments that can bother you.

Chair exercises for lower back pain can be highly effective towards discomfort and back pain. Combined with an ergonomic office chair, you will very likely forget that back pain once was a problem.

Moreover, these seated exercises for older adults are not complicated to incorporate into your daily routine. All you need to do is take a few minutes to stretch your muscles, and then you can continue with your daily activities with an improved mood and increased comfort.

What do you need to start doing senior chair exercises?

Although the following seated leg exercises for seniors can be helpful, you'll need an appropriate office ergonomic chair for that purpose. If you do the exercises in a regular office chair and remain seated on it for prolonged periods, your efforts will be wasted, and you will keep suffering from the same ailment.

With so many options available, which one should you choose?

We recommend the ErgoChair Pro.

ErgoChair Pro

The ErgoChair Pro is one of the most popular ergonomic chairs by Autonomous. It is a cost-effective option that will help you sit comfortably and appropriately throughout the whole workday without feeling an accentuated back pain.

This chair is suitable for people of all sizes, as it has a capacity of up to 300 lbs. This chair was designed to adapt easily to your body shape, making it possible for you to find the best posture as soon as you sit on it. This feature also makes it possible for you to feel relief regarding back pain. It will also help you correct your posture.

This chair is made of recycled materials. Thus, we can categorize it as “eco-friendly.” Do you want an item that helps you with chair yoga for back pain? This is your call.

Incidence of back pain in seniors

It is well-known that most office workers suffer from back pain on a daily basis, especially people under age forty-five. However, this ailment seems to be more common in seniors, and more than an improper posture while sitting, it can be a symptom of serious illnesses like osteoarthritis.

For this reason, we recommend visiting a physician before submitting yourself for any routine or treatment.

Five senior chair exercises to improve your spine health

In this section, you'll find numerous seated exercises for seniors that will help you increase your comfort if you're obligated to sit for prolonged periods due to work-related reasons.

1. Stretches

First, we'll begin seated exercises for seniors with stretches. Don't worry. For seated exercises, you won't have to put your muscle under too much pressure.

Neck stretches

Sit upright. Start tilting your head toward your right or left shoulder until you feel that your neck is “stretching.” Do this gradually, without pushing too hard. Then, remain in that position for a few seconds, and release.

Repeat this process for the opposite side. Then, you can do it two to five times for each side.

This seniors chair exercise aims to "warm-up" your neck area and all the muscles surrounding your upper back area.

Shoulder circles

As you sit upright, grab your shoulders with both of your hands. Then, start doing circles and repeat it at least fifteen times.

The purpose of this exercise is to warm up the muscles of your shoulders so that they don’t strain while you’re doing the appropriate exercises.

This is also one of the best stretches for shoulder pain.

2. Exercises

You can start doing these seated exercises for seniors once you’ve stretched your muscles appropriately to prevent strain.

Moreover, doing seated core exercises for seniors can help you feel relief more than just replacing your old chair, as you'll keep your body in movement.

Ankle and wrists rolls

Seniors often suffer from low blood circulation through the extremities. This translates into balance and mobility issues. Thus, this exercise is often recommended for improving the circulation of your hands and feet.

• Sit upright on your ergonomic chair without leaving it against the chair's backrest.

• Bend your fingers (open and close your fists). Do this multiple times, and then close your fingers to form a fist. Roll your wrists at least ten times for both directions.

• Do the same process, but with your feet (separately). Bend your feet while you flex your toes.

• Twist each ankle inward and then outward ten times. Do this exercise independently for each foot.

Modified push ups

Instead of doing them on the floor, you can take advantage of your chair for further support.

• First, stand facing the chair. Place both of your hands on the chair's edges or armrests until your body is tilted or in a "diagonal" position. Do it without arching your back. Try to maintain it as erect as possible. If you start feeling tension at your core, that means you’re doing it right.

• Please keep your elbows as near to each side of your body as possible. Then, start bending them to move toward the chair.

• Get close to the chair until your chin is about to touch it. Then, go back to the starting position.

If you’ve always struggled while doing pushups, this new version can be helpful.

Knee lifts

The next seated exercise for seniors is meant for strengthening your legs. Follow these steps to get started with it:

• Sit upright with your legs parallel to the floor.

• Flex your knee and lift it to get it near your torso. Then, lower it and put it back to the starting position.

• Repeat the same process, but apply it for the opposite leg.

• Do at least ten repetitions for each leg until you can count twenty in total.

The purpose of these seated exercises for seniors is to improve your quads, which happen to be the most common muscle type in the human body. Furthermore, they are used in most activities, which means this best chair exercise for seniors will also improve your resistance in general