Tag Archives: Stretching

October 12 – Issue 19

Extra Opening Hours

Hello and welcome again to Refreshing Rehabilitation. I hope you had a fantastic Summer. Its been action packed in the sporting world with the Olympics, football European Championships and from a cycling perspective, a first ever British Tour De France winner in Bradley Wiggins!

With regards to Elite Thearpy, I am happy to announce opening hours have been extended, allowing more day time appointments for individuals. Monday sees the clinic open from midday and as a promotional offer, a 30 minute massage will be ONLY FIVE POUNDS.

There are also appointments available Thursday mornings as well. Please look at page 4 for opening hours.

Why Do We Stretch?

Stretching is, and always will be, a massively debated topic in the health and mobility of an individual. It has always been seen as an important aspect of exercise, whether at the beginning or at the end of a session, or as part of a general exercise program. The debate begins on what type of stretching to do and for what purpose.

For active individuals, maintaining good mobility by stretching can prevent injury and allows efficient movements in areas being regularly stretched. As an individual gets older, flexibility naturally decreases, so by stretching regularly, it may allow individuals to keep doing the basic  things in life that could be taken for granted. These can be as simple as doing your shopping or even washing. The reason for stretching can vary greatly.

It was commonly thought that static stretching prior to exercise was the most efficient way to prepare muscles. This viewpoint has gradually shifted towards the suggestion that more dynamic stretching should be implied during the initial phase of exercise. There are studies that agree with static stretches¹, though far more have shown a lack of support for this evidence²’³. For sporting individuals, a full body warm up encorporating cardio exercise, joint mobility and muscle mobility seems to be favoured at the current time. Making sure circulation is good prior to stretching is suggested to benefit more as it means blood is moving more freely around to allow a better stretch.

Stretching should only be taken to the point where an individual can normally stretch, as taking it further then normal may have detrimental effects. Overstretching can cause muscle fibres to tear and may lead to injury once more intense and dynamic movements begin.  It is also important to make sure that any stretching that is performed, should be done bilaterally and not just as a measure to stop compensate an existing injury at another location. Unilateral stretching leads to the opposite muscle being under stretched and susceptible to injury due to the imbalance and lack of recognition of the movement due to be performed.

Muscles in The Back

Muscles in our back are commonly injured or are generally ache. It is an area under a lot of stress and this is reflected in these conditions. When standing, the spine bears the brunt of the weight. With supporting discs in the spine and a strong mucle group helping it, the spine can stay strong and you get a good posture.

Muscles in the body cross over in a lot of places as they perform many actions, so its easier to describe them in groups. The erector spinae group runs from the base of the skull to the pelvis close to the spine and provides great support and stability to the spine, through its dense and layered arrangement. The trapezius is a large muscle that connects the neck, shoulder and back, along with covering the shoulder blade. The rhomboid group helps the shoulder blade support the spine. Muscles that cover the back to its side are the large Latissimus Dorsi muscle along with the oblique group and serratus posterior. The provide the strength for sideways movements in the back. Muscles that link shoulder and back are the rotator cuff group, consisting of 4 muscles, each with slightly different roles. Deeper muscles such as quadratus lumborum, illiacus and the psoas group provide core support, and are generally problem areas when an individual experiences lower back pain. All the above (plus many other smaller muscles), help provide movement s in the back such as flexion and extension (bending forward and back), rotation and lateral flexion (side bending). All these muscles, when working, efficientle, provide strength and stability in the back and allow a better posture for the individual.

Quick Facts

1. “Your nose and ears never stop growing.”

2. “We forget 80% of what we learn every day.”

 3. “When you go to sleep you are around half an inch shorter then you are when you wake up.”

References

1. Ghaffarinejad, F., Taghizadeh, S. and Mohammadi, F, 2007, Effect of Static Stretching of Muscles Surrounding the knee on knee joint position sense; British Journal of Sports Medicine; 41; pp.684-687.

2. Behm, D.G., et. al., 2004, Effect of acute static stretching on force, balance, reaction time and movement, time; Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise; 36; pp. 1397-1402.

3. Young, W.B., & Behm, D.G., 2003, Effects of running, static stretching and practice jumps on explosive force production andd jumping performance; Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness; 43; pp. 21-27.

April 10 – Issue 9

           Welcome again to another edition of Refreshing Rehab!  I hope the snow was fun, though inevitably it became annoying. Now the weather is slowly improving and the days are getting longer we can put it behind us!

           On Sunday 30th May, my friend and I are holding a charity 7-a-side football tournament and raffle in aid of cancer research and St. Francis hospice in Berkhampstead. If you (or you know anyone) are interested in entering a team or buying some raffle tickets, please contact me. Teams are £50 and raffle tickets £1 a strip. Prizes include food hampers, meal vouchers, beauty vouchers, wine, amongst others! If you would just like to make a donation, you can pass it on to me at AFC Kempston.

Stretching

Stretching has been a vital part of preparation and maintenance of a persons well being for many years. The main point of argument is what stretches to do, when and why. It is, after all, the most tedious part of activities, even if it is also one of the most important so its important to know a little about it!

The idea of stretching is to increase muscle control, the flexibility, length and pliability of a muscle, reducing the risk of the muscle becoming strained during exercise, or any sort of activity for that matter.

A stretch is when you elongate a muscle to its longest possible length. It is often done unintentionally, for example, stretching when yawning in the morning as soon as you get up. Athletes should stretch prior and after activity as it reduces the risk of injury during performance. It aids in keeping a better range of motion in the muscle and could prevent the onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) after activity¹.

Stretching the whole body is the most beneficial thing to do thought the majority of people do not have the time for this, so stretching the main muscles that will be used is the most vital thing. For example, a footballer would concentrate their stretches in the legs.

There are different types of stretching that can be performed, whether individually or with assistance from another individual. Individual stretches can be static (without moving) or dynamic/ballistic (with movement). Research is inconclusive on which stretch is best to do before and after activity. Personally, I prefer dynamic stretches prior to exercise, but only following a cardio-vascular exercise to increase blood flow in the body. I prefer dynamic stretches as they mimic the actions to be performed in the activity. Static stretches in my view should be performed after activity as the body is trying to recover to its normal resting condition. Research also suggests static stretches prior to activity could be detrimental to performance for an individual¹. Holding stretches for a long enough period is also important and this is generally regarded as 15-20 seconds per stretch. It is also thought that doing each stretch 2 or 3 times is the best thing, though it has also been suggested that some stretches only find benefits after the first repetition².

There are many assisted stretches, also called passive stretches. Common varieties performed in massage sessions or for rehabilitation purposes can include proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), postisometric relaxation (PIR) or muscle energy tecniques (METs). They are all slightly different with different ways to stretch and restore the muscles most efficient function. To find out more about any of these techniques and if you would like to encorporate them in your therapy sessions, please feel free to get in touch and find out further details.

Knee Ligaments

The knee is a very complex structure, held together by strong ligaments to provide support and stabilize the joint. The 4 main ligaments that do this are the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments. Put simply they are 2 in the middle and 2 at the side.

The 2 cruciate ligaments are so called as they cross over in the joint capsule(some texts also refer to them as intracapsular ligaments). The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) begins at the anterior intercondylar area of the tibia and passes backwards, outward and upwards and attaches to the femur on the inside of the lateral condyle. The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is the opposite. So it starts at the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia, goes forewards, inwards and upwards to the outside of the medial condyle of the femur. The PCL is the stronger of the two³. The most common way of injuring these very strong ligaments is to over extend the knee (damages ACL) and over flex the knee (damages PCL), usually through an impact of some sort, ie. Falling powerfully on a hard surface and bending the knees very quickly.

Quick Facts

“Every hour 1 billion cells in the body need to be replaced”

“Every squre inch of your body contains 19 million skin cells”

“The adult human body reqquires 88 pounds of oxygen daily.”

 References

1. Nelson, A.G., Kokkonen, J., & Arnall, D.A.,  Acute Muscle Stretching Inhibits Muscle Strength Endurance Performance, Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research / National Strength & Conditioning Association Vol. 19.2 (2005), pp 338-343.

2. Sharman, M.J., Creswell, A.G. & Rick, S., (2006), Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching, Sports Medicine, Vol. 36 (11), pp. 929-939.

3. Marieb, E.N., Human Anatomy & Physiology, 5th edition, Benjamin Cummings, London.