Stone Clinic staffer Catherine working out
Stretching and Flexibility
Know the Basics
RELEVANT LINKS:
The Stone Clinic Stretching Exercises
CrossFit Program at The Stone Clinic
PRE-HAB
Year-Round Conditioning Program for Pro Athletes
Stone Clinic Knee Camps
How to Speed Your Recovery from a Sports Injury
Fundamentals
-- It is OK to stretch anytime, especially in the way outlined below. Is it better to be warmed up first? Yes, of course. But in the morning, for example, you can take a hot shower and have your cup of coffee and then stretch, as you should be warm enough. -- Stretch often. Muscles are like obedient dogs. They need constant, repetitive training. One session of stretching lasting one minute isn’t going to change anything. Stretching big muscles like hamstrings and quads takes time. Ninety seconds per leg should be a baseline, five or six times a day.
-- Make stretching something you do while doing something else. Stretch your tight muscles while seated at your desk at work. Stretch in front of the television. Stretch every time you check your email. Make time to stretch!
-- Stretching is hard work, but should never be painful, make limbs go numb, burn, or leave you feeling worse than when you started. Start slow until you get a feel for it. If you have any questions, see your physical therapist.
How to Stretch
A proven, effective method to stretch muscles is called contract-relax. It comes from a method of physical rehabilitation called PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation). Using contract-relax stretching, you are basically trying to reset the resting length of the muscle itself. For most muscles, the contract-relax method described below is like a miracle. A typical contract relax-stretching cycle involves stretching a muscle to it’s available end range, and creating a strong contraction of that muscle for about five seconds without moving it. Then, tension is suddenly and quickly released and the muscle is stretched a little further in the new available range for about 10 seconds. This cycle is repeated about 5-6 times to good effect.
1. Lie on your back, extend one leg, and lift it up and toward your chest as you did in the testing positions described at the beginning of this section, so that the hamstrings being stretched are at their end range in either the straight-leg or bent-knee position. You can perform the straight-leg variation while sitting in a chair at work.
2. Now, without actually moving the body, and maintaining tension at the hamstrings’ end range, try to generate a force in the muscle that is about 25 percent of what you think you could maximally produce. It is likely your quads will kick on too as you do this; this is OK. It should feel like you are trying to rip the hamstrings while they are under load. Hold that contraction for about five seconds, and then relax the muscle suddenly, like you are turning off a light switch.
3. Next, take up the newly created slack in the muscle by extending a little farther and hold for about ten seconds.
4. Start again with the contraction-and-release cycle. Repeat this process about five or six times. After stretching the hamstrings in both knee positions (bent and straight), stand up and enjoy the changes.
2. Now, without actually moving the body, and maintaining tension at the hamstrings’ end range, try to generate a force in the muscle that is about 25 percent of what you think you could maximally produce. It is likely your quads will kick on too as you do this; this is OK. It should feel like you are trying to rip the hamstrings while they are under load. Hold that contraction for about five seconds, and then relax the muscle suddenly, like you are turning off a light switch.
3. Next, take up the newly created slack in the muscle by extending a little farther and hold for about ten seconds.
4. Start again with the contraction-and-release cycle. Repeat this process about five or six times. After stretching the hamstrings in both knee positions (bent and straight), stand up and enjoy the changes.
** To sum up: you are not as efficient as you could be if you have tight muscles that are getting in the way of your athletic and physical potential and you are likely predisposing yourself to orthopaedic injury. You can change this even if you have been telling people for years that you just aren’t flexible.
See a list of specific stretching exercises here: The Stone Clinic Stretching Exercises.