For many people, stretching isn’t one of their favourite pastimes. For others, their bodies crave a good stretching session! But regardless of how much you enjoy it, all our bodies need regular stretching to undo all the static sitting, repetitive tasks, poor posture and bad habits we have built up over the years.
So what actually happens when you stretch? When you stretch a muscle, the tiny fibres that live within that muscle lengthen out and so does all the connective tissue that surrounds those fibres. This then gives great messages to your musculoskeletal system, your joints and your brain all register that this muscle now has more length and flexibility.
When you repeat this process over and over, the muscles start to gain extra range of motion and freedom to move well once again.
When muscles are more flexible, they create less tension on the bones and joints they attach to. Flexible muscles allow your joints to move as they’re designed to, rather than a stiff muscle applying a handbrake to your movements.Stretching has many benefits including:
- Reduced pain
- Better movement patterns
- Less tightness and stiffness
- Improvement of scar tissue
- Less pressure on nerves, joints, ligaments and tendons
- Less risk of injury
- Reduced inflammation
- Improvement in posture
It’s important to stretch regularly, particularly when undergoing treatment for any musculoskeletal conditions. Stretching with the right stretches between treatment sessions can help manage your symptoms as well as help to speed up the healing process.
Want to know more? Keep an eye out for future posts soon : WHEN to Stretch and HOW to Stretch.
If you’re unsure of which stretches are best for you, just ask me next time you’re in!