The New Rules of Stretching

Good News: Mobility is no Longer Boring

By Justin Casteel, RYT-200, ACTION-CPT

                Watching an animal in the wild, or even a pet inside a home, we as humans can be struck by the beautiful simplicity of their movements.  Animals like cats display graceful, sinuous movements, and can walk so quietly that they make no sound.  Dogs can lay on the floor all day in a sunbeam, then get up, shake around, stretch for a few seconds, and then they are ready for play!  Sometimes, we as people shake our heads and can’t understand how these animals aren’t stiff, or don’t seem to hurt after laying and sitting on the floor all the time!  And when they run, animals can embody an athletic springiness that looks coordinated, vital, and magestic all in the same instant.

                But when humans get in groups to engage in physical activity, we have a funny way of behaving.  Some of us will sit on benches, stretching our legs, or use straps and blocks to stretch our shoulders and waists and necks.  And we just do it, and accept it as a way to improve mobility or avoid post-exercise stiffness.  And a lot of it is really boring!  Sitting for thirty seconds, or even as much as ninety seconds, doing some stretches can seem like an eternity!  Fortunately, there is some exciting new research that points to benefits from a very different sort of stretching.

                As a trainer, one of the most common complaints that I hear is about stretching.  It seems people would rather do something more active, more engaging.  Or, maybe they don’t really see the point.  However, in light of some new research, there might be light on the horizon for stretching!  Apparently, when looking from a motor control perspective, “[o]nly during active movement are the efferent, motor recruitment sequences generated, which is essential for encoding the movement…”¹  In fact, the Golgi receptors are only activated in an active stretch (where one muscle is contracting to help lengthen another; an agonist/ antagonist pair).² This suggests that stretching like a dog or a cat, where the muscles actively contract, might be more beneficial than conventional stretching.  Furthermore, “[p]erformance is enhanced by goal-orientated and whole movement. Stretching practices, which focus internally and on specific tissues, may degrade performance”.¹

                So, in conclusion, maybe we can find a way to stretch through movement, to enhance mobility in ways that are more active and more engaging than the old runner’s stretches we might be used to!  Now, that being said, there still may be some benefit to traditional stretching.  But it might be just as good, or better, to try something new… and something that might be a little more fun!

 

References

1). Lederman, E. (2015) Human movement performance: Stretching misconceptions and future trends. In Schleip R. (1^st ed) Fascia In Sport and Movement (pp. 83 – 91) East Lothian, Scotland: Handspring Pub.

2). Avison, J. S. (2015) Yoga: Fascia, Anatomy and Movement East Lothian, Scotland: Handspring Pub.