We are all striving to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. The athlete strives to increase sports performance and decrease the risk of injury. Maintaining a fluid, flexible body is a great start. The flexibility of your muscles and joints dictates your ability to move within certain ranges of motion and during specific activities. Whether you’re an elderly adult looking to enjoy active golden years, or you’re a weekend athlete looking to avoid injury or the "Monday-morning blues of soreness." stretching and flexibility exercises are something you should add to your daily ritual for wellness.
The Physiology of Stretching
Your musculoskeletal system comprises muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments. All these components play vital roles in the posture and locomotion, or movement, of your body; these components are the basic building blocks of joints. Muscles are the motors that drive the body into a desired direction. They come in many shapes and sizes and cover the majority of your body.
On the surface, an individual muscle is made of thousands of strands of tissue called fascicles. These strands are generally what we visualize when we think of muscle or what we see in animal meat. The larger strands comprise smaller and smaller elastic strands (muscle fibers), which decrease in size and increase in number all the way down to the muscle’s basic strand, a myofibril. The thread-like myofibril, which eventually comprises overlapping thread-like myofilaments, contracts, relaxes, and lengthens, dictating the basic function of our muscles. Essentially, it is the ability of the lengthening component of the muscle action that is facilitated and improved by stretching.
But the muscles are not the sole benefactors or the pivotal components in an efficient flexibility program. Tendons, connective tissue that bridges your muscle to bones, also have key elements that provide flexibility to a joint or bone juncture.
Within the tendon is the communication center that provides information to the muscles and the brain as to the lengthening and shortening capability of the musculoskeletal structure. By adhering to a constant, correctly executed flexibility program, you positively stress your muscles, tendons, and ligaments (connective tissue conjoining bone to bone), ensuring optimal muscle elongation. Participating in a flexibility program can decrease the shrinking effect of your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and can improve your general joint mobility. Improving the mobility of your joints helps prevent injury if you’re active and helps prevent the onset of muscle stiffness that leads to many falls in the elderly.
Stretching your muscles enables the elasticity of the myofilaments to increase until their end-point is greater than it would have been if you hadn’t stretched. For example, if your quadriceps muscle is being stretched, pressure in the same line is applied to your quadriceps tendon. The tendon then sends a signal through your brain and down into your hamstrings, which is the antagonist muscle of the quadriceps. The hamstring adjusts because the initial and primary action is for the quadriceps is to relax; therefore, the antagonist muscle must adjust to the primary action.
Over time, the ability of these mini-rubber bands to stretch farther and farther will increase, improving your general flexibility.
What is Flexibility?
Flexibility is the farthest range of movement in a joint, or a combination of joints, that is attainable in a momentary effort. Your flexibility is something that can be viewed both in a specific sense as it pertains to a single joint (such as your elbow) or generally, as it applies to the body as a whole. But mostly you have to look at your flexibility as the makeup of the individual flexibility of specific joints leading to an overall body effect. Remember, if people are flexible in their legs, they may not necessarily be flexible in their back or arms.
There are three categories of flexibility: dynamic, static-active, and static-passive. Dynamic flexibility is the ability to attain a maximum range of motion of the joint while performing a movement. This is the flexibility you exhibit while walking, running, or participating in physical activity. Static-active is equated more to the general stretching prior to performing exercise, such as bending over and touching your toes (without bouncing). Finally, static-passive flexibility is the range of motion achieved by the joint structure when an outside force such as another person or apparatus assists the movement. An example of static-passive would be the same hamstring stretch of touching your toes, but with pressure on your back from a partner, or you pulling upward from a fixed bar bolted to the floor at your feet (remember not to bounce).
Factors Affecting Your Flexibility
There are many factors that affect your ability to reach your maximum flexibility potential. Primarily, there are the anatomical limitations such as type of joint, bone structure, elasticity of your skin and connective tissue, and your muscle’s ability to relax. For example, you may have noticed that you are able to turn your foot inward a lot farther then you can turn it outward. The reason for this is a bony limitation on the outside of your ankle that prevents it from turning farther. The tibia (shinbone) is longer on the outside of your ankle than it is on the inside. This is precisely why 90 percent of all ankle sprains occur when the ankle is turned inward. The elongated bone of the tibia decreases outward range of motion and protects the ankle from twisting that way.
Excessive muscle mass or fatty tissue can also limit your flexibility. And, of course, injury can lead to a decreased range of motion or flexibility. If the tissue is torn or overstretched, it will be too painful for you to complete the normal motion of that body part.
There are external influences that affect your flexibility as well. Women are generally more flexible than men. Age is also a factor. Growing children have more elastic connective tissue that allows for greater flexibility. As we age, the connective tissue becomes tighter, thus, to maintain flexibility to battle the effects of aging becomes important. The time of day can also affect your flexibility. People are generally more limber in the late afternoon than in the morning. This can most likely be attributed to their muscles being warmed up after the day’s use.
The Dos and Don’ts of Stretching
To gain flexibility, you must stretch. When it comes to achieving the desired results from stretching, using proper technique is essential. By understanding the physiology of your musculoskeletal system and applying proper technique, you are more likely to improve your flexibility and avoid injury that may occur while doing the actual stretches.
For instance, you should use slow, static-stretching techniques in which the muscle is stretched to the end of its range of motion. The days of ballistic stretching (bouncing) are over. Rapidly bouncing up and down can cause trauma such as tearing and overstretching to the muscle fibers and tendons. You should stretch a muscle to the point of slight discomfort or burning and then hold this position for at least ten seconds. Never stretch forcefully. Be patient. Overdoing it will only cause you harm. You’ll generally start to see improvements in your flexibility in two weeks if you stick to your daily routine.
You should aim to stretch all your major muscle groups at least once a day, even if you do not plan on participating in physical activity—especially if you do not plan on participating in any physical activity. By stretching, you will increase the blood flow to your muscles and lubricate your joints. This will ensure proper movement and decreased muscle and joint stiffness. Try to adapt a routine. Most people enjoy a good morning stretch to get the cobwebs out from their evening slumber.
Ease into your stretch. Cold muscles are more prone to injury. Much like a rubber band, you will be able to stretch them farther when they are warmed. If you are planning on participating in physical activity, it is a good idea to warm up prior to your stretch by engaging in light aerobic activity.
For fitness enthusiasts, it is also a good idea to stretch after participating in physical activity. Stretching helps increase the oxygen content of your muscles’ cells by bringing in fresh blood supplies. The increased blood supply helps flush out painful lactic acid that is partly responsible for muscle soreness. By decreasing the lactic acid and increasing the nutrient flow to the area, your muscles are more apt to relax. A relaxed and loose muscle is less prone to painful cramping or knotting.
Final Stretch Remarks
No matter what your age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status, stretching is the one thing that everyone can do that is a sure-fire way to increase sports performance, prevent injury, and battle the aging process.
Remember to ease into your stretches and control the motion by holding the stretch between 10 and 30 seconds. Typically, there is no such thing as stretching too much. Stretch two or more times a day for best results. But keep it slow and under control, avoiding bouncing or forceful motions. Adapt to a routine that best suits you and your environment or activity.
Increasing your flexibility through stretching is sure to give you a great sense of health and well-being that will last for many years to come.
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