Written by Marissa Hoen | July 20th 2020
Stretching is hands down my favorite part of each workout- but don’t think that I’ve always felt this way! Long before stretching became a daily habit in my life, the idea of sitting down and pushing my body into a pretzel was unappealing to say the least. When I finally did get myself to stretch, I would feel aching in my joints and pain shooting down the back of my legs- which made it really unlikely that I would stretch in the future. At that time I had the very classic training mentality: “no pain, no gain”, a phrase that I now believe has no place in a stretch session! Through lots of trials and many errors, I learned to stretch only as far as slight discomfort, and have seen great improvements in flexibility and less pain throughout my body.
What are some benefits of regular stretching?
Increasing both active range of motion (you can move yourself further) and passive range of motion (I can stretch you further)
Decreased muscle stiffness
Increase in muscle length
Increases mobility and safety in daily activities when combined with resistance training
By increasing flexibility, and then strengthening in that newly acquired range of motion, activities of daily living such as walking down the stairs become safer. This is because the individual is better able to keep their balance as more of their joints participate in the movement instead of one joint doing all of the work!
Relaxation (as long as you don’t push into pain!)
Increased tolerance of discomfort during the stretch
The more you stretch, the less pain/discomfort you will feel from stretching!
Are there any potential risks?
If a stretch is pushed past the point of discomfort, or even further past the point of pain, there is an increased risk of muscle strains, ligament sprains, and tendon tears. This is why I always recommend taking a stretch very slowly and consciously- especially if you aren’t stretching consistently.
How often should I stretch?
Everyday!
Stretching below the point of pain is safe to do daily. You can reap the benefits listed above by stretching as little as 1 minute per muscle group per day.
For greater improvements in your range of motion, I recommend finding moments throughout your day that you can add a quick stretch in. For example, whenever I go to put on my shoes, I take a moment for a hamstring stretch and mindful breathing (30 seconds each leg).
What are the most important areas to stretch?
This depends on your daily activities and lifestyle! If you aren’t a stretching fanatic and would prefer to just focus on a few simple and effective stretches, I would focus on stretching the muscles that you use most in your day or those that spend a lot of time in a shortened position.
Computer and T.V. time has a lot of us sitting with our spines and shoulders rounding forward, shortening our chest muscles, the front of our necks, and our hip flexors. Try these three stretches to help counteract time spent sitting:
Chest opener: put a yoga block or a ball between your mid back and the back of your chair. Inhale to lift your chest while opening your arms out to your sides, stretching them back as you lean lightly back against the block. Lift your head lightly to look up.
Front of the neck: begin by tilting your head to bring one ear closer to your shoulder, then slowly draw your chin toward the shoulder then towards the ceiling. If you have any disc or cervical spine issues, perform this movement very slowly and in a much smaller range of motion.
Hip flexor stretch: lying on your back on a bed (or at the plinth at MOVE!), move over to the edge of the bed so that one of your thighs can hang off the side of the bed while your torso and hips stay on the bed. Lightly squeeze your abdominals to keep your low back flat on the bed as you try to touch your foot to the floor with your hanging leg. **Try this with a partner first, as this requires some core stability to prevent your from rolling off the bed.
References
Blazevich, A., Cannavan, D., Waugh, C., Miller, S., Thorlund, J., Aagaard, P., & Kay, A (2014). Range of motion, neuromechanical, and architectural adaptations to plantar flexor stretch training in humans. J Appl Physiol 117:452–462.
Gavin, J., Reeves, N., Jones, D., Roys, M., Buckley, J., Baltzopoulos, V., & Maganaris, C. (2019). Combined resistance and stretching exercises training benefits stair descent biomechanics in older adults. Front. Physiol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00873
Muanjai, P., Jones, D., Mickevicius, M., Satkunskiene, D., Snieckus, A., Skurvydas, A., & Kamandulis, S. (2017). The acute benefits and risks of passive stretching to the point of pain. Eur J Appl Physiol 117:1217-1226.
Image credit: https://www.kidsyogastories.com/chair-yoga-poses/