A little Science behind why Stretching and Flexibility can Keep your Body Healthy

Another day at the office? Another day of working 8+ hours sat at a computer screen, hunched over the keyboard, and the last thing on your mind is your reduced range of motion in your legs or the misalignment in your spine as you type away at work.

Today’s society has become so accustomed to the desk job, that having tight hamstrings, a sore back and poor posture is just part and parcel of the day to day working life.

The importance of stretch is often overlooked as an unnecessary, time consuming and painful act that we know we should do more of but simply don’t. Tightness in our muscles is one of the main factors hindering our performance daily as well as in sport and fitness. And it only gets worse as we get older, as our mobility reduces and daily functioning becomes increasingly more difficult.

So how can we change it? And how can we make it easier to do? What if you didn’t have to do it at all and someone did it for you? Say hello to 1 on 1 Assisted Stretch. This type of stretching allows for an external person to take your body through and past their full range of motion to increase flexibility, help you relax, boost your mood, aid injury prevention and improve posture. As well as this, it allows your body to stretch in ways that you cannot achieve on your own, giving attention and pliability to muscles that may not ever have been lengthened.

What actually happens to your muscles when we stretch?

Within our muscles we have the sarcomere which makes up the muscle fibres. These are responsible for our muscles contracting. When we stretch the muscle, the muscle fibres (and sarcomeres) reach full length and this stretch, if continued, carries into the connective tissue which joins our muscles to the bones. As all of these fibres elongate, they all realign in the direction of tension and help to rehabilitate knots or muscle spasms. it is quite literally, the untying of the knots.

A little deeper into the science?

Muscle spindles within the muscles are proprioceptors that, when the muscle is stretched, record the change in length of the muscle and the speed. This is sent to the brain to trigger a ‘stretch reflex’ which in turn attempts to resist the change by causing the muscle to contract. The more sudden the movement, the stronger the contraction (which is how our muscles protect themselves from injury or tear in bouncing back through contractions). When we hold a stretch in place for a while, the muscle spindle acclimatises to this length and reduces its signalling to resist the change. Gradually these receptors allow for greater lengths in the muscles and our flexibility then increases.

But why do we need to be flexible?

Passive muscles, the ones we don’t work and stretch, become shortened through postural adaptation. These are your ‘desk job’ issues. Conversely, active muscles become shorter from spasm, contraction or injury. These are your ‘exercise’ issues. Regardless of the cause, tight muscles will limit your range of motion and affect your body’s functioning and posture.

With regular assisted stretch, your body’s flexibility will increase significantly as your muscles become used to reaching greater lengths. In turn, when stress is put on your muscles – by accident or when exercising – the chance of injury is reduced as your muscles are holding less tension and are less likely to react to external stress (with the ‘stretch reflex’). Rather they will be more pliable to increase your range of motion and protect you from muscle tears or strains.

Poor posture also stems from poor flexibility, which then causes pain in the lower back and neck. By undertaking assisted stretch, we loosen the muscles and clear the toxins that build up in these places of tension. This increased range of motion and stretched muscle aids circulation so our muscles can be flushed of these toxins and metabolic waste products flooding our muscles with a strong and uninterrupted blood flow.

So why do I need to be ‘assisted’?

The truth is we don’t need to be ‘assisted’, we can do it ourselves. We can take our bodies through a range of stretches and holds to see all of the benefits of a stretch session… but we don’t! Our fast-paced lives don’t reserve 30-60 minutes to stretch our bodies and give our muscles the TLC they need. The assisted element also means you don’t have to do anything, and the relaxed nature of assisted stretch enables your muscles to move freely and reach deeper ranges of motion to see even more benefits from the sessions. Assisted stretch activates your parasympathetic nervous system – responsible for rest and relaxation. So some may even liken it to a massage!

So next time you rush out of the gym class before the stretch section, take a moment to think of your muscles and the importance of stretching. Yes stretching is a pain but it’s a pain  that really is worth it!

Sources:

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Stretching

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273886/

https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-flexibility#benefits

https://stretch22.com/5-benefits-of-flexibility-exercises/

https://www.cnet.com/health/should-you-pay-someone-to-help-you-stretch-i-tried-it-to-find-out/