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BENEFITS OF STRETCHING Stretching assists in fitness as well as in recovery. It prevents injury by maintaining maximum range and elasticity, thus encouraging greater blood flow. This in turn keeps the muscles and other tissues healthy and strong. So then if you stumble and wrench a joint, there is much more flexible range to call upon without tearing. Stretching is also very useful in recovery. Increasing the blood flow brings extra oxygen and nutrients for speedier healing. This is especially noticeable in tendon or ligament injuries where the blood supply is lower. One of the mechanisms that the body uses for increase in range is the call for it. So the more often you try to make a movement the more ready your body will be to cope with it. This is how range is increased, by trying to move further. The posh word for it is proprioception: the body's feedback mechanism for whether it has succeeded in reaching the target movement that you intended to make. There is an area of the brain dedicated to measuring our performance against our intent. This is how we improve our aim, we have to know what we were trying to do and whether we have succeeded before we can try again to do better. I have found that my patients stay fitter and recover faster if they do a number of gravity stretches as well as some repetitive movements to the end of range. So, for example, the stretches listed on the previous page include a number of swinging exercises for the arms, legs and torso. If repeated, these will increase your range without any other effort on your part to do so. Merely by trying to do them, as described in the previous paragraph, your body's range will improve. The first two stretches are universally applicable, they work whether you are suffering from sitting too long at a computer, driving or taking part in any sporting activity. Almost all of our concentration is directed forward, so it is good to stretch our backs from time to time. Dynamic stretches are useful because they also have the benefit of refreshing the blood supply through movement. Yoga is a good way to cover these stretches, especially a dynamic form such as Iyengar yoga. Beautifully presented in "Fitness Stretching: The pleasures of staying supple" by John Jerome. ISBN0-285-63506-9 | ||
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CATHERINE HOLLAND Tel: 0701 7415310 Email: catherine@catherineholland.co.uk | |
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