Summary
Getting aerobically fit and building strength are not enough. That’s another thing you should think about. It can help stretching.
You might think that runners and dancers are the only ones who stretch. That being said, we all need to stretch to keep our freedom and movement. “A great many people don’t know how important it is to stretch regularly. “It should be every day,” says David Nolan, a physical therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is connected to Harvard.
Why stretching is important
Muscles need to be flexible, strong, and healthy to keep the joints moving freely. Stretching helps keep muscles flexible, strong, and healthy. The muscles get short and tight without it. When you then ask the muscles to do something, they are weak and can’t reach their full length. That makes you more likely to hurt your muscles, joints, or strains.
Like, hamstrings in the back of the thigh get tight from sitting in a chair all day. That could make it harder to fully straighten your knee or stretch your leg, which would make it hard to walk. In the same way, muscles that are already tight can get hurt when they are quickly put through a hard activity that stretches them, like playing tennis. Muscles that are hurt might not be able to support the joints well enough, which can damage the joints.
“Won’t put too much force on the muscle itself,” says Nolan, because muscles stay long, lean, and flexible when they are stretched regularly. People with balance issues are less likely to fall if their muscles are in good shape.
Where to even begin
Daily stretching may seem like a daunting task when you consider how many muscles you have. However, according to Nolan, it’s not necessary to stretch every muscle in your body. “The areas critical for mobility are in your lower extremities: your calves, your hamstrings, your hip flexors in the pelvis and quadriceps in the front of the thigh.” The same goes for stretching your neck and lower back. Try to stretch at least three or four times a week, if not every day.
Seek out a physical therapist (the Y is a wonderful place to go) who can evaluate your muscle strength and create a stretching regimen specifically for you. Consult your physician before beginning a new stretching program if you have a chronic ailment like Parkinson’s disease or arthritis.
Stretching once today won’t immediately give you perfect flexibility. It’s something you’ll have to work on steadily and with dedication. “It may have taken you many months to get tight muscles, so you’re not going to be perfectly flexible after one or two sessions,” explains physical therapist David Nolan of Massachusetts General Hospital. “It takes weeks to months to get flexible, and you’ll have to continue working on it to maintain it.”
Flexibility in the thigh muscles may be maintained with regular hamstring stretches. Put your legs up in front of you and sit on the floor. Feel the heat go up your legs as you slide your hands down your body. After 30 seconds, come back to a seated posture gradually.
Execution that is accurate
We used to think that stretching was important in order to get the blood flowing through the muscles and get them ready for movement. However, a growing body of data suggests that stretching the muscles before they have had a chance to warm up can actually cause the muscles to become more injured. “When everything is cold, the fibers aren’t prepared, and this increases the possibility that they may be destroyed. According to Nolan, “if you exercise beforehand, you will get blood flow to the area, and that will make the tissue more pliable and amenable to change.” Five to ten minutes of light movement, such as a brisk walk, is all that is required to properly warm up the muscles before stretching them. Stretching is another option that you have after a session of cardio or weight training.
Maintain the stretch for a full minute. Do not bounce because doing so puts you at risk of injury. During a stretch, you should only feel tension, not pain in the muscle being stretched. If you do, there is a possibility that the tissue will be injured or damaged. Put an end to straining out that muscle, and make an appointment with a physician.