Stretching and good habits help fight stiffness

Q: I get 10,000 steps a day four days a week, but it doesn’t keep me from waking up stiff and sore. I’m 63 and need advice on getting more limber. — Marion S., Albany, New York

A: Waking up stiff is a sign of inflammation. To ease that, sleep on your back with a pillow under your knees or on your side (not in fetal position) with a pillow between your knees. Also, adopt an anti-inflammatory diet — eat a rainbow of colorful produce, and skip dairy, red meat and processed meats and refined grains — and practice stress management daily.

As for your muscles, tendons and ligaments … as you age, even if you’re active, shifts in hormone levels, immune system function, circulation and skeletal muscles’ protein metabolism cause muscles and connective tissue to lose tone and strength, and joint lining to produce less lubricating synovial fluid. So, to loosen up, try these two stretches.

1. Stand with feet a shoulders’ width apart; extend arms overhead, hands clasped together. Now bend slowly left — stretching the right side of your torso. Hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side. Do that three times.

2. Stretch your hamstring by elevating your right heel on a stool or curb with your leg straight, toes pointing upward. Hinge forward from your hips with a straight back until you feel the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch sides; repeat three times.

But it takes more than morning stretches to stay flexible as you age.

■ Hydration. Start the day with 12 ounces of water; you want to get 64 ounces daily. It helps with joint mobility and pumping blood to the muscles. If you’re active — and sweating — you need even more.

■ Exercise. By compressing muscles, you help bathe connective tissue and joints in fluids needed to stay supple. So after stretching, do aerobics five days a week and strength training two days a week.

■ Supplements. Omega-3s, CoQ10 and vitamin D help build muscle strength; collagen can help reduce water loss in tissue. Ask your doc about taking them.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen at youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.

(c)2020 Michael Roizen, M.D.,

and Mehmet Oz, M.D.