I go over stretches and strengthening exercises with every patient, but I have to give my “spiel” to someone before introducing them to stretches so that they don’t injure themselves. Even for people who actively stretch, most people don’t know these three simple rules of stretching.
Rule 1
Warm up.
This seems like a really easy idea but most people don’t warm up before they exercise strenuously, let alone before they stretch. If you think about it, a dry sponge can be ripped in half but a wet sponge is much more able to bend and twist. In the same way, a muscle engorged with blood will respond much more effectively during stretching than a “dry” muscle. A good warm-up would be 10 minutes of moderate walking on the treadmill, a hot shower/bath, or even doing some light housework. Just doing something to get the blood out into the muscles will do. Your warm-up exercise should not be anything too strenuous.
Rule 2
Go slowly.
Time moves so fast….except for when you’re stretching. And then, it slows to a crawl. I think that’s why most people don’t have the patience to stretch.
Even people who do take the time to stretch only give themselves about 10 to 15 seconds per stretch….sometimes not even that!! But whenever you go to stretch – especially a muscle group that’s very tight – you should keep in mind that muscles will initially “guard” against the stretch, meaning that the muscle will contract slightly in order to protect itself. In order to achieve a good stretch and eventually gain more flexibility a stretch has to be held long enough for this “stretch reflex” to go away, so you should hold a stretch somewhere between 45 to 90 seconds. And if you stretch the muscle a second time within the next 5 to 10 minutes, the time it takes for the stretch reflex to go away will be more in the neighborhood of 30 to 45 seconds.
So get a watch or position yourself near a clock where you can count the seconds while you’re stretching, or you will likely think you’ve held the stretch longer than you actually have.
Rule 3
Breathe deeply.
It may not seem like stretching is that big a deal, but for those people who don’t stretch that often and are wound super tight, asking their muscles to stretch places a huge metabolic demand on the muscle. That muscle seeks out fuel to meet that metabolic demand, and the most readily available, plentiful and immediate fuel you can give it is oxygen. Breathing deeply will help pump oxygen to the muscle, making the stretch more effective and promoting relaxation.
That’s it. 3 simple strategies for stretching, no matter the muscle or area you are stretching.
1) Warm up
2) Go slow
3) Breathe deep
Watching your back,
Dr. Steve
