Flexibility for Health and Fitness
Steven McCune, PT, PES
Procore Physical Therapy P.C.
Through the years we have always been told to stretch. Our grade school gym teachers, our coaches, our aerobic and yoga class instructors, personal trainers, and physical therapists, all in some way, shape or form, have tried to make us more flexible. Why?
What are the health benefits of stretching? By definition, flexibility is the normal extensibility of all soft tissues that allow full range of motion of a joint. But why is it good to be flexible?
The textbook answers include: to relieve stress on the joints, increase joint range of motion, decrease the chance of injury, improve posture, and decrease muscle pain and soreness. These are all good reasons to stretch but what is the ultimate goal?
The important question becomes, how is being more flexible going to improve the quality of my life, or the ability to better perform my job, sport, or recreational activities?
To best answer this we need to understand the concept of functional flexibility. Functional flexibility means multi-directional soft tissue movement through a full range of coordinated motion. In other words: the muscles, tendons, and connective tissues possess the ability to move freely throughout a variety of everyday movements.
Everyday movements occur in many directions or planes of motion. Everyday movements also occur at a variety of speeds, and with the fast pace of life these days, these speeds can be fairly rapid. For example, a quick bend and twist to lift a child or bundle of groceries.
A certain type of stretching called Dynamic Stretching is used to establish functional flexibility for movements that occur in many directions, and happen at the speed of life (or the speed of your sport).
Let's back up a moment and identify the basic types of stretching. There are three general categories of stretching including: Static, Active and Dynamic. Static is the kind of stretching that we are most familiar with. Static stretching is the process of passively taking a muscle to the point of tension and holding that position for about 20 to 30 seconds.
Active stretching is the process of using a muscle's force to stretch another muscle. Active stretching is usually held for 5 to 10 seconds and occurs in one direction at a time.
Dynamic stretching uses the ability of one muscle group and the body's momentum, to move a body segment through its full range of motion.
Dynamic stretching is performed in a variety of directions and at functional speeds. Functional speeds mean at the speeds required for that individual to perform most of their work or recreational activities. So flexibility programs should be tailored to match the individuals' activities and lifestyles.
To achieve functional flexibility, a stretching program should progress to performing dynamic stretching, or stretching the muscles through a variety of controlled movement.
The other two types of stretching previously mentioned, Static and Active, have their place in the early stages of flexibility training. When a person first begins a stretching program, the initial goals should focus on correcting muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances occur when certain muscles become too tight and others too weak. Using static methods, the tight muscles should be stretched, while the weak muscles are being strengthened. Dynamic stretching methods are used only after these muscle imbalances are corrected to avoid risk of injury.
So it may be apparent that stretching should occur in stages. The beginner should do static stretching until most muscle imbalances are corrected. The intermediate level is active stretching, which will better prepare you for the dynamic stage.
The dynamic stage is the ultimate level of stretching and will achieve the ultimate goal of functional flexibility. Functional flexibility will provide the body with the highest level of health and fitness.
Good Luck. Any questions feel free to call 845-680-2673.