We get a lot of questions about stretching as this is a very important topic with both exercise as well as rehabilitation.  We can safely say there is a time and place for stretching.  Too many people do not understand when and how to stretch.  Better yet, they do not know what to stretch.  There are lots of types of stretching, from static, to dynamic, to ballistic, to PFS, PRS, CRAC, and the list goes on.

Each form addresses the body in a different way.  More advanced forms of stretching help us to better achieve our fitness goals but too many people stretch improperly and often at the wrong times.

As far as stretching goes, there are three basic concepts I will address that I hope will help many better understand the topic of stretching.

1. Static stretching should never be done before a demanding activity. You might be thinking ‘did I read that right? He must be wrong’. Well, no, I meant it. When we stretch a muscle, we are looking to elongate it. I assume we can all agree with that. Okay, let’s go on.  When we stretch a muscle, we are asking the body to release the muscle spindle activity to get a great ‘stretch.’ The problem is that muscle spindles do not like to stretch too much.

In order to successfully achieve that stretch, many times we need the golgi tendon organs (GTOs) to activate. The GTOs are not found in the middle of the muscle like a spindle. They are found closer to the ends of muscle/tendon and they make sure our muscles do not tear. So, when we stretch, we really have to push the limits of the length of tissue so that the GTOs will fire so that the muscle does not tear. When they do fire, they shut off the muscle spindle.  In the case of a static stretch, this allows the muscle to, well, stretch.

This all sounds good, right?  NO…it’s horrible for an athlete. Let me explain why: a muscle spindle can remain ‘off’ for many, many hours. Being this is the case, if you stretch and then go and play your sport, your spindles won’t be working.  You are more likely to create injury…ouch! This is not what you want.

There is nothing wrong with static stretching if it is after an activity and you are not going to be over-taxing the stretched muscle(s) in the net 24 hours.  Acceptable ‘stretching’ before an activity includes dynamic forms of stretching, or activities that help mimic what you will be doing in your specific activity.

On the topic of static stretching, it has NEVER been shown to reduce injury. If you can find a good study, please let us know. There are over a dozen studies showing that static stretches create injuries. We don’t want to beat a dead horse…don’t static stretch before you do anything physical.

2.  Dr. Stuart McGill, likely the top spinal biomechanist in the world, for years has been telling us some very important data about stretching. As a chiropractor, I am going to further what he is saying…so if you disagree with some of what is written in the following paragraph, please blame me, not Dr. McGill.

Stretching can increase flexibility but it cannot improve range of motion (ROM). ROM involves the ability of a joint to move properly whereas flexibility refers to the ability of muscles to lengthen. This is a VITAL point to get across for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a personal trainer, chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist, athletic trainer, or whatever. If you have joints that are fixated (joint dysfunction), you cannot stretch your way through them. We can get into more complex articular neurology here with the different types of mechanoreceptors and how they work, but this is not necessary here.  The bottom line is that fixated joints need to be mobilized.

For those who wish to disagree, I’ll explain a bit more. Let’s say you have joint complex dysfunction and you stretch the heck out of the area…and I don’t care how you stretch it. The area moves better but the joint complex dysfunction is still there. Congratulations, you have created the perfect environment for a muscle tear.

When joints do not move, the surrounding soft tissue will compensate to make up for the lack of movement. This, alone, creates a problem. Then along comes a therapist of some sort and tries to stretch the ‘tight’ area and guess what? You just increased your risk of soft tissue injury because the joint(s) the muscles are trying to move still does/do not move and now the muscle is over-stretched, making it more vulnerable for injury.  Stretching can be beneficial, but it can also be dangerous.

3. Facilitation and Inhibition patterns must be understood.  (I’ll keep this topic short).  Our bodies have patterns of muscles that tend to get facilitated (tight and neurologically impaired when it comes to stretching).  We also have muscles that are inhibited (elongated and neurologically impaired when it comes to contracting).  If we go and ‘stretch’ an inhibited muscle, we create injury.  On the other hand, if we try to strengthen a facilitated muscle, we create more imbalance and an environment for more injury.

There are lists online of all muscles that tend to be facilitated and inhibited.  All licensed physical medicine therapists need to know this list and anyone who exercises should be familiar with the list, as well.  Muscles must be addressed properly to yield desired results.  In a nutshell, we need to facilitate inhibited muscles and inhibit facilitated ones.

There is more to stretching but I hope these three concepts have shed some light on the topic and have helped some people reduce the likelihood of injury.  Until next time…

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