7 Exercises to Help Get Your Mojo Back After Soft Tissue Injuries

When I worked in home health, we often experienced a phenomenon at the beginning of the week named “The Monday Surprise.”

When we arrived at patients’ homes on Mondays, we were often surprised by stories of falls they had experienced over the weekend. I referred to these falls as the weekend plops, drops, and flops. We’d ask the expected questions while trying to drill down on why they fell, and among the discussion points, a popular refrain surfaced: “I fell, but I didn’t get hurt.” Meaning they'd fallen but, thankfully, hadn’t broken a bone.

They work well with my patient population, but you should speak with your medical provider to ensure they are right for you.

1. Walking 

Walking is the universal solvent for stiffness and soreness. It’s as easy and natural as, well, walking. It introduces joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles to small, repetitive movements that can be highly therapeutic. Here, we will focus on brisk walking.

Step 1: Start your walk at a slow, measured pace to allow your body to warm up.

Step 2: After 5 minutes, increase your speed to roughly double your normal walking pace and try to maintain it for 15 minutes before slowing down to the original starting pace (your normal walking pace).

Step 3: Maintain this pace for 5 minutes to slow your heart rate and let your body cool off.

Walking might be the last thing you want to do when you’re sore, but trust me on this one. Start slowly and work up to speed, and you’ll see how helpful it can be.

2. 6-Point Neck Stretch

Your head sits atop your neck, which sits atop your shoulders. During falls, all that mass turns into one big pendulum that keeps moving briefly after the rest of your body stops. The resulting “whip” of your neck and head can lead to severe soreness and stiffness. Fortunately, there are stretches you can do to help.

Practice Tip: Be sure to move slowly through these exercises, as rushing them can leave you dizzy.

Step 1: Sit or stand upright, with your head facing forward and your shoulders back.

Step 2: Tuck your chin down toward the base of your neck and hold for 2 seconds. Then, bring your nose as far toward the ceiling as you can and hold for another 2 seconds before returning to the starting position.

Step 3: Slowly turn your head as far left as possible, hold for 2 seconds, and then rotate right. Hold for another 2 seconds, then move back to the starting position.

Step 4: Bring your right ear toward your right shoulder as far as you comfortably can without rotating your head. Hold for 2 seconds, then repeat on the left before returning upright.

Step 5: Performing all of these movements is considered 1 set. Try to perform 15 sets.

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3. Alternating Arm Swings

Now that we’ve walked and worked to loosen up our necks, let’s move on to shoulders and arms, continuing down the body.

Step 1: Start this exercise standing, with your feet hip-width apart and your arms by your sides.

Step 2: At the same time, swing your right arm straight forward and your left arm as straight back as you can. Take approximately 2 seconds to move into position.

Step 3: Return to the starting position and immediately perform the movement in reverse, with the left arm moving forward and the right arm moving back.

Step 4: Each time you move your arms into position, it counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions, feeling free to modify sets and repetitions to meet your needs.

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4. Standing T-Spine Rotations

Moving still lower down, let’s now address your spine, one of the most consistently involved body structures in a fall. “Oh my aching back” is the most popular lament of the fallen, but this exercise may turn it into a song of happiness instead.

Practice Tip: Avoid speeding up as you progress through your repetitions to help maximize this exercise.

Step 1: Stand with your arms straight out in front of you, elbows bent to 90 degrees, and your right hand over your left hand.

Step 2: Holding your left arm in place, rotate your body to the right while extending your elbow, finishing the move by extending your arm completely straight and pointing straight back. Keep your trunk upright as you rotate.

Step 3: Hold for 2 seconds before slowly returning to the starting position and repeating the movement on the right side.

Step 4: Each movement counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions.

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5. Standing March

Now, let’s move into more dynamic movements. The standing march builds on everything we’ve done in earlier exercises and involves your whole body.

Step 1: Stand with your arms by your sides and your feet hip-width apart.

Step 2: March in place, bringing your knees as high as comfortably possible. Move slowly, taking 1 to 2 seconds to complete each marching step. To increase the intensity, add your arms to the movement.

Step 3: Perform this exercise for 2 minutes per set and try for 3 sets. Feel free to modify sets, times, and performance speed to suit your needs.

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6. Lateral Stepping/Shuffle

Hips often take the brunt in falls, especially when you fall to the side. Beyond that, our hips are prone to getting sore in general. As an older patient once told me, “You meet all kinds of interesting people as you get older: Arthur Itis, Ben Gay, and Fannie May Hurt.” This exercise works well for hips, limbering them up and warming the joints.

Step 1: Stand with your arms by your sides and feet side by side.

Step 2: Take a large step to your right side. Step your left foot to your right foot. Continue this pattern for 30 steps or as many as you can.

Step 3: Stepping with your right foot, then left counts as 1 set. Try to perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions. As you’ve probably guessed, this is a great exercise for open spaces and backyards.

Step 4: Once you warm up, you can move to lateral shuffles, speeding up the movement as fast as you comfortably can. Feel free to experiment with different speeds to see what works best for you.

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7. Stepping Jacks

Now, we’ll add overhead arm movements to lateral stepping, but instead of moving one way and the other, we’ll step side to side. By now, your body should be warmed up, ready for further movement, and tolerate this treatment well.

Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hands by your sides.

Step 2: Step to the side with your right foot while swinging your hands up from your sides and over your head.

Step 3: Bring your left foot over to your right foot while bringing your hands back down, then repeat these movements to the other side, stepping first with the left foot and then the right.

Step 4: Stepping to one side is considered 1 repetition. Try to complete 3 sets of 30 repetitions. Feel free to modify your sets, repetitions, and performance speeds to suit your needs.

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This simple yet effective routine can help you recover from stiffness and soreness after falls or for other reasons. Performed regularly—at least once per day—they can help shorten the duration of your soreness and get you back to your old self again.

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