Flexibility is important for everyone, athletes and nonathletes can benefit from practicing a stretch routine or having it performed during a massage. Stretching has many therapeutic benefits like improving mobility, balance and range of motion. When added to a massage and  practiced regularly on your own, stretching has also been proven to restore the length of tight muscles, decrease chronic pain, reduce the chance for injuries to occur, increase the body’s metabolism, and can promote a deeper state of relaxation. Staying well hydrated keeps muscles, tendons and ligaments from becoming dehydrated, which can lead to injury during stretching, exercise and while playing sports.

 

Types of Stretching

• Active Stretching
  • Using your own muscles to provide resistance, actively contracting one muscle to stretch another to improve flexibility. Keeping your muscles and joints healthy is beneficial for movement.
• Static Stretching
  • When a stretch is held for 30 to 60 seconds without moving. These types of stretches are best for post-exercise as they elongate the muscles for relaxation. We aren't trying to enter an exercise or athletic event after giving our bodies the signal to relax!
• Passive Stretching
  • Through the use of a prop, placing a muscle in a stretched position without the activation of another muscle to facilitate the stretch. The key for these types of stretches is the use of some kind of external assistance for the body to rest against. To avoid injury it is important to use a stable, well grounded object that will not give out during your stretch. 
• Dynamic Stretching
  • Actively moving through range of motion, warming the muscles and joints up in preperation for activity. This is not a bouncing action as stretching should never include a bouncing action. Steady movement through a joints range of motion for 10 to 15 seconds readies the body for activity.
• Isometric Stretching
  • Stretching into a prop, or yourself without changing the length of a muscle. Holding this position until your muscles begin to fatigue creates a low-impact stretch that is safe for most people. Rehab will often begin with isometric exercise due to it being safer and having a lower risk for injury.
• PNF Stretching - Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
  • PNF stretching was developed by Dr. Herman Kabat in the 1940s as a means to treat neuromuscular conditions. According to some research PNF stretching may be one of the most effective stretching techniques for increasing range of motion. PNF stretching takes a muscle to its limit which triggers an inverse myotatic reflex. This is a protective reflex the body uses to calm a muscle as to prevent injury. This reflex is also an important one for maintaining posture, balance, and coordination during movement.
• PIR Stretching - Post Isometric Relaxation
  • Post Isoemetric Relaxation was developed by Dr. F.L. Mitchell Sr., DO in the 1950’s. PIR stretching involves a muscle being placed in a stretched position which is then followed by an isometric contraction against minimal resistance. The contraction is then followed by relaxating the muscle and finished with a  gentle stretch. This technique has an opposite goal to PNF stretching because we are not trying to activate the myotatic reflex, instead relaxing tight muscles without initiating this reflex. PIR has been effective in reducing muscle spasms and increasing range of motion.