The Synergytraining Blog

by Dr Clayton Hyght DC CS
 
I’d be willing to bet that you don’t spend too much time stretching. Do you? First of all, let me state that I, myself, have never been mistaken for Gumby (or Stretch Armstrong for those of you who are a bit older). And no, time for stretching is not inked (or even penciled) into my Franklin Covey planner. Regardless, let me share with you some of my tips and strategies for stretching enough to keep serious complications at bay. I’ll also talk about an optimal stretching protocol, just in case a couple of you are interested.

What are the benefits of stretching?

The benefits of stretching are numerous. As a Doctor of Chiropractic, I would say that up to about 85% of the patients I treat for biomechanical pain and dysfunction could have prevented or delayed their condition with proper stretching. I even tell my patients this. I give them information that would decrease my patient treatments by 85%, but very few listen to me.

A tight muscle can, in and of itself, cause pain. I can’t begin to count the number of patients who have told me that they have ‘a pinched nerve,’ when their pain really came from a hypertonic (tight) muscle. In other words, a tight muscle can really hurt. Once a muscle has been tight long enough, scar tissue can form in a effort to permanently ‘fuse’ the muscle in it’s new, shortened position. This happens, essentially, to preserve energy. Because it takes ATP (cellular energy) to cause a muscle to contract (shorten), it would be more energy efficient to fuse that muscle into position with what is essentially scar tissue. Stretching can prevent this cycle of events from ever beginning. That scar tissue, once formed, is tough to get rid off. A manual therapy does exist that can be very effective at ridding the muscle of this unwanted tissue, however, it can be rather painful. As any of my patients who have had me perform this therapy on them will tell you, it’s much easier to prevent the problem in the first place.

Stretching can do wonders for preventing injuries. As you could imagine, if you take a tight muscle and stretch it to what should be its maximum length, you could very well suffer a muscle strain or tear. This is especially true if one does so rapidly, as occurs when running sprints. More than one competitive bodybuilder I was working with has torn a hamstring running sprints to get ready for a contest. I now screen these athletes for tight hamstrings and prescribe some prophylactic stretching in order to prevent these types of injuries. Knock on wood, I haven’t had another precontest athlete tear a ham. The moral of the story is that tight muscles tend to tear easily.

For those of you interested in building muscle, you should know that research shows that stretching actually increases the size of a muscle by causing it to lay down new muscle tissue at the ends of the muscle, consequently lengthening the muscle. This would give the muscle a larger and fuller look to it, especially when flexed.

Maintaining proper flexibility of the muscles around a joint will help to ensure that the joint functions in a biomechanically correct manner, thus avoiding premature wear-and-tear. Imagine having the guy wires on a radio tower shortened on one side. That would not bode well for proper alignment of the tower. Likewise, when the muscles on one side of a joint are tight and shortened, they cause misalignment and improper articulation, thus leading to premature wear and tear.

When should you stretch?

It was originally thought that it would help to prevent injuries by stretching before a workout. Recent studies show that this is most likely not the case. For maximum safety and effectiveness, it’s best to stretch after a light warm-up and/or at the end of your workout. Although it may not prevent injuries like we used to think, I still like to lightly stretch before my weight-training workouts and after a total body warm-up. I simply feel better during my workouts after doing so. Regardless, no one would argue that one of the best times to stretch is immediately after your workout. In essence, you have just spent an hour tightening up your muscles, now loosen them up by stretching. Leaving them tight is asking for trouble.

How long should a stretch be held?

I have typically subscribed to the more is better mentality when it comes to how long one should hold a stretch. My admittedly unscientific reasoning is that the longer a muscle is held in a lengthened position, the more likely it will be to stay that way. However, I must tell you that some studies show no difference between holding a stretch for 30 seconds versus one minute. They do, however, show that holding a stretch for 30 seconds is superior to holding it for only 10 seconds. To summarize, you should hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds.

Oh, and for those of you who still wear a Member’s Only jacket, bouncing while stretching (ballistic stretching) is not only way out of style, it can also be dangerous. Ease into your stretches, stopping when you feel a nice but comfortable stretch, and then hold it for the prescribed amount of time.

How often should you stretch?

Most of the studies that I’ve came across had the subjects stretch each muscle for the allotted time, rest for a moment or stretch the opposite side, then restretch for the allotted time. This protocol is typically performed once per day. I still think, to an extent, that more is better as far as frequency goes. I have also seen much faster improvements among my patients when they increase their number of stretching sessions per day. If someone has a truly hypertonic muscle that is giving them a problem, I (and other authorities) recommend stretching it once per waking hour. That may sound excessive, but it works. For a general stretching program aimed at improving flexibility, try stretching each muscle two or three times daily. For a maintenance program, stretching once per day should suffice.

Which muscles are most important to stretch?

There are certain muscles that, in almost everyone, are likely to be hypertonic. As alluded to above, it is very common for people to have tight hamstrings, especially those of us who spend a lot of time sitting (either at a desk or in a car) and who train with weights. Sitting can also lead to an excessive tightness of the hip flexor muscles, as does performing certain exercises like leg raises, running, and walking on an incline. If I may digress down the body, the calves are often tight as well. Moving back up the body, most people also suffer from tight lower back (erector spinae) muscles. Next on our list of statistically tight muscles is the chest and anterior deltoids. A tight subscapularis (the ‘cuff’ muscle responsible for internally rotating your arm or turning it in) virtually always accompanies the hyper tonic chest and anterior delts. Moving on, the upper traps along with a similarly functioning muscle that lies underneath the upper traps – the levator scapulae – are often affected by tightness, especially in those who have bad shoulder posture and/or who work at a desk. Lastly, the muscles at the base of the skull that cause the skull to tilt backward on the spine, the suboccipitals, are very commonly tight. This often results in tension headaches.

Commonly Tight Muscles
· Calves
· Hamstrings
· Hip Flexors
· Lower Back
· Upper Trapezius / Levator Scapulae
· Suboccipitals

Advanced Stretching Tidbits

Both research and anecdotal evidence shows that Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitative (we’ll just call it PNF) stretching is by far the best type to perform for maximum results. To perform PNF stretching, you essentially take the muscle to its endpoint (a light to moderate stretch) and hold for about ten seconds. Then lightly ‘push’ into whatever is being used for resistance (a partner, wall, etc.) without allowing any movement. Hold this light contraction for about 10 seconds before relaxing. When you relax the muscle, it should be able to stretch a little farther before getting back to its endpoint. Repeat this contract/relax at least three times. True PNF stretching can be much more complicated, but that overview is enough to greatly enhance your stretching regime.

Another advanced tidbit is to place moist heat under or on top of a muscle being stretched. That really seems to (and research supports this) enhance the quality of the stretch, especially in a really stubborn muscle. I also like to follow that up with a few minutes of ice on the muscle while still holding it in the stretched position. Again, both research and anecdotal evidence support this.

What are you waiting for? Quit staring at your computer’s monitor, get out of your chair and start stretching.