Ellicott Center Suggests Flexibility Exercises for Seniors
At the Ellicott Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, we know that physical inactivity is the enemy of mobility and physical comfort. For patients in long-term care facilities, though, physical movement can be challenging, and the temptation to avoid it can be strong. That tendency can create an unfortunate cycle, though, as failing to stretch and strengthen major muscles over a period of time can make future attempts at movement even more difficult, which can discourage later efforts.
The best approach, however, is to move and stretch as often as possible to maintain looseness and elasticity in muscles and connective tissues and to promote strength in bones. Maintaining and improving flexibility can also help patients remain less prone to injuries that can result from falls, strains, accidents, etc. So let’s take a look at some easy exercises that can help patients in even some of the most sedentary situations maintain and improve flexibility.
STRETCH YOUR NECK
For instance, while sitting in a chair, without tipping your head forward or backward, turn your head as far as you can to the right or the left, hold it for up to 30 seconds, and then try the other side.
NOW TRY YOUR BACK
To stretch your back, you can sit on toward the edge of your chair and bend forward at the waist, sliding your hands down your legs to your shins. Be careful not to lose your balance, though; we don’t want you to injure yourself trying to stay healthy.
AND LASTLY THOSE LEGS
Finally, you can try sitting sideways on a bench (or a couch or bed, if harder long seating isn’t available), and laying one leg straight out on that surface while steadying yourself with your outside foot on the floor.
Ellicott Center Salutes the Buffalo Bulls For Making the March Madness Second Round
March Madness is a magical time of year for sports fans, and it hit especially close to home for us in Buffalo and at the Ellicott Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation this year, as the Buffalo Bulls NCAA Men’s Basketball team made it to the second round for the second consecutive year. As a trusted rehab partner of our beloved Buffalo Sabres, we’re big sports fans here at the center, and we’re very proud of this year’s Bulls team.
The 13th-seeded Bulls upset the 4th-seeded Arizona Wildcats in 2018 to make it to the second round where they were downed by 5th-seeded Kentucky. This year, however, the Bulls arrived at the tournament as the 6th-seed in their bracket region and were favorites to beat the 11th-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils, which they did easily. Buffalo was overwhelmed by 3rd-seeded Texas Tech in the second round, unfortunately, but such is the tournament.
The Bulls basketball program has come a long way over its long history, dating back over 100 years to 1915. In the eight years between 1957 and 1965, the team appeared in Division II NCAA basketball tournament six times, making it to the Elite 8 against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1957. They joined the Division I MAC Conference in 1998 and won the MAC Basketball East Division Title for the first time in 2009. They’ve won their MAC conference division season championship five times, the conference regular season championship four times, and the conference tournament championship four times. We’re eagerly looking forward to seeing how far our hometown Bulls can make it in the years to come!
