Stretching: Things you need to know
Muscle tightness affects everyone and can often cause discomfort and pain. Here we’ll discuss the basics of stretching and how to keep yourself safe and injury free whilst completing them.
Is stretching a good idea?
Done correctly, yes. Here are a few reasons why.
Stretching can improve your range of movement and flexibility. Postural problems are often caused by muscle imbalances (increased tightness or weakness in the muscles), so stretching can improve the alignment of your body. This can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal complaints arising, so it’s even helpful if you don’t have any pain (yet). It has also been shown to improve blood flow which can shorten recovery time after exercise.
If you pulled a muscle a few months ago, there may still be scar tissue within the muscle, which can contribute towards muscle tightness, weakness and potential further injury. Scar tissue is laid down in a random fashion near the injury, and so is not as strong as the rest of the muscle (as this is all aligned in specific ways). Stretching can help scar tissue to realign and improve the muscles overall function.
Why does stretching hurt?
Muscles contain muscle spindles which record the change of the muscle length when stretching and sends signals to the spine. This triggers something called a "stretch reflex". This will attempt to resist the change in muscle length by causing the stretched muscle to contract.
The main idea of this is to prevent the body from injury. If you hold the muscle in a stretched position - the spindle adapts and reduces the signals to the spinal cord. The quicker the change in muscle length, the stronger the muscle contractions will be.
This is why you SHOULD NOT STRETCH QUICKLY. This is also why you should not “bounce” during a stretch - this stretches the muscles too far, too fast and can lead to muscle soreness and small tears to the muscle.
Ease slowly into a stretch, and go as far as YOUR body feels able to. Stop when you feel resistance, tightness or mild discomfort. The discomfort may ease off (as the muscle spindle adapts). If you find the muscle loosens a little, you can gradually move slightly further into the stretch. If the stretch becomes painful, ease off a little and hold in a slightly less intense position.
How long should I hold a stretch for? And how many should I do?
There are lots of different ideas and opinions out there on this. A lot of this depends on the type of muscle, previous injuries, your age, muscle fatigue and temperature. If you are looking to increase flexibility, studies have found the most beneficial duration for a static stretch is between 15 - 30 seconds. Another study found no increase in muscle elongation after 2-4 reps.
So you get the most benefit from stretches when you complete them with a maximum of 4 repetitions.
Interestingly, 60 second stretches have been found to be more effective than 30 second stretches in older individuals (over 65’s). This is likely due to the collagen content in the muscle, as this decreases with age and reduces elasticity.
Our previous blog has quick stretches to help with potential postural problems which may be encountered when working from home. These are 15-30 second stretches designed to be quick, accessible and easy to fit into the working day, whilst still helping improve the flexibility of the muscles.
What about stretching before running?
Some of you may decide to take up running now that gyms and other exercise facilities have closed their doors. Again, great news, but it’s important to understand the role of stretching before and after exercise.
Stretching before exercise should always be DYNAMIC rather than static. These are active movements where the joints and muscles go through a range of motion. They can either mimic the activity you are about to perform, or can just be a series of movements to get the body moving.
So before running this may involve:
Heel flicks
High knees
Walking lunges
Gentle leg swings holding onto a wall
Jogging on the spot
Static stretching has actually been found to reduce muscle strength in some studies. It has been suggested that this may actually INCREASE the risk of injury if completing them before a run as the tendons and muscles are “looser”. Your muscles need to contract during a run to create force.
Think of your muscles and tendons like a spring - stretching them for prolonged periods reduces the “bounce” and can be detrimental. The idea of dynamic stretching is to increase blood flow to the muscles without over-elongating them. See our blog on how to reduce the risk of running injuries for more information on this.
This is absolutely not written to substitute medical advice and it is always important to see a qualified health care professional for a formal diagnosis. If any of the exercises cause pain during or after the exercise, discontinue and consult a physiotherapist.
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