Important Tips on Stretching

Stretching is one of the most important tools for preventing injuries and maintaining optimal health and fitness. Chiropractic care combined with stretching is a winning combination. Both are essential for maintaining flexibility, while also treating and helping to prevent muscle stiffness, tightness, pain, and injuries. I often say that "Chiropractic therapy starts the healing process and helps you to be able to stretch, and stretching helps you to heal." This is because it is the re-introduction of movement into problem joints and muscles which stimulates the body to repair itself, restore circulation, and ultimately heal. Yoga or stretching by itself may by enough for the rare individual with a perfect spine, but for the 80% of the rest of us, chiropractic care unlocks the magic and full potential of stretching by removing inflammation and blockages, allowing the full function and participation of all necessary joints during a movement. Alone, many people -- and even instructors -- find yoga and stretching insufficient or even damaging if done without a proper check of spinal function from a chiropractic doctor.

When muscles are not stretched on a regular basis they become tighter, shorter, stiffer, and limit our range of motion. If stretching is not used to offset these decreases in flexibility, then the changes can become permanent and further muscle and joint problems will result. Believe it or not, stretching can also increase muscle strength. By lengthening a muscle, much like stretching a rubber band, each of the muscle fibers have a potentially greater distance over which a contraction can take place, and more strength can be generated. Stretching is therefore also known as “preloading” a muscle.

Ideally, muscles should be stretched every day, especially after exercising, and it is a good idea to do some light stretching during and after prolonged periods of sitting, sleeping, or other stationary activities. Unfortunately, most people rarely stretch and only realize the importance of stretching after they develop muscle problems. Frequent stretching alone can prevent many aches and pains, and virtually every muscle problem involving pain or imbalance is impacted in some way by our existing level of flexibility.

The most common method of stretching involves carefully moving very slowly inch by inch into a progressive lengthening of a muscle, without any form of bouncing. You should move slow enough to “sneak-up” on a muscle, so it doesn’t try to fight against you. Such a stretch should be done for at least 30 to 60 seconds, if you want a lasting effect. The biggest mistake most people make is they stretch a muscle for too little time, resulting in no permanent length change. If you have tight muscles, you should stretch those muscles at least 2 or 3 times per day, while other muscles should still be stretched at least once a day.

If you exercise, by far the most important time to perform static stretching is after your activity. This is the time when your muscles are tightest and if they are not stretched, they will remain in a shortened position. Over time this results in increased soreness and recovery time after exercise, decreased flexibility, and muscle imbalances. It is also important to note that the stronger you are, the tighter your muscles can get and the more they need to be stretched.

It is a good idea to perform stretches after your muscles are warmed up, because they will be more pliable and you can stretch them further. So if you do some stretches in the morning, its best to do them after you’ve been up and moving for a while, or after showering. You should also make minor changes in your body position to target the parts of your muscle that are tightest, as this will improve the effectiveness of all stretches.
Stretching should make your muscles feel better, and if pain persists after you’ve stretched, it could indicate you may have not targeted the appropriate muscle or region within the muscle to stretch, or you may have coexisting joint or nerve inflammation which your chiropractor can address.

If you are not in pain, well you have probably heard the expression that an ‘ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’, and that certainly applies to stretching. But for people who have lived with pain for some time, stretching is an essential part of a rehabilitation program for restoring proper balance, stability, and strength, while helping to return you to a lifestyle which is fully active and pain free.