Stretching. Good? Bad? Depends…Part 1

Flexibility is one of the most misunderstood aspects of fitness today. Like most people, I grew up thinking that all stretches were good and should be performed by everyone. Even today if you Googled the word flexibility, you would find hundreds of articles focusing on the importance of static stretching. These articles would go on to suggest that everyone should do the same series of stretches regardless of their own physical limitations. Eventually you may begin to ask yourself “Am I getting closer to my goal of becoming more flexible or mindlessly performing these stretches? You may even ask, “Are these stretches I’m doing right for me”? The truth is that range of motion is what’s important, more specifically the range of motion you need for a given activity.

The interesting thing about range of motion is that tissue elasticity doesn’t equal range of motion! Range of motion is determined mostly by your nervous systems comfort level in a given position. If you’re unable to reach a stretched position like the splits and your body says STOP this is your stretch reflex stepping in. Your nervous system, which controls the stretch reflex, is saying you don’t have the strength or stability to be here. An excellent illustration of this is a condition called frozen shoulder. If after an injury you don’t use your shoulder for a long time, then it will lose much of its range of motion. The muscles around the shoulder have become weak and unable to control basic movements. After you recover your strength you can recover your range of motion. Once your nervous system perceives the stretch as safe your muscles will not undergo a reflexive contraction stopping your range.

The human body is one of the most adaptable and changeable organisms on the planet. Your body controls the resting tension through a variety of mechanisms, mainly through muscle spindles. Muscle spindles are sensory receptors within the belly of the muscle, which detect changes in muscle length. Sitting in a chair for an hour or two is enough time to shorten and tighten your hamstrings and change your resting muscle tension. Anyone that has taken an airplane ride can attest to this. Conversely, sitting with your legs extended in front of you would tighten your quads. The responses of muscle spindles to changes in length play an important role in muscle contraction. This is the mechanism that effectively makes you feel tight. Lifestyle, work, injury and exercise can all change and alter your body in its own unique way. It’s these personal lifestyle differences that make your imbalances different from everyone else and in turn requires that you have your own specific workout protocol. Flexibility, range of motion, and muscle tension are relative to the activity you’re trying to perform.

So the question becomes “How should I stretch?”

(Read Part 2 Here)