To stretch or not to stretch…

We seem to be weaning out of a phase of muscle and ligament strain/ sprains and into a season of back and peripheral nerve injuries. The weather began to warm and whether you hit the ground running or you were at the end of your spring sport season and wore your body down, you are most likely recovering. As you are progressing from that spring time strain, my patients have asked “to stretch or not to stretch????”

Some things to consider:

1) Research shows dynamic hamstring stretching prior to performance produces a 40% power increase. I encourage my endurance athletes to go through a dynamic hamstring stretching routine. We program this into their virtual workouts.

2) I do encourage the stick work and mobility because it adds a component of strength that the muscles and nervous system need.

3) As your body gets stronger, your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) will relax and allow for increased flexibility.

4) If you stretch, but do not strengthen immediately afterwards then there is a lengthening of fibers that have not been strengthened (especially eccentrically) and could be either injured or will recoil back to their "safe" position.

Feel free to find me on Instagram if you are looking for mobility ideas for improvements @healingphysio.pt or email me if you would like to set up a consultation.

If you want to purchase a stick to feel the tissue unwind, click my products tab (or button below), find the link for Stick Mobility and use my discount code: HealingPhysio to save 10%

This is not medical advice. You should always consult your healthcare practitioner(s) for medical advise and what is best for your care. The purpose of this blog is to centralize and share information while connecting with others.