Busting Common Exercise Myths: Part 3 - Stretching Tight Muscles

Kheya McGill , Registered Kinesiologist, is back with another myth-busting blog! In part 3, Kheya reviews why stretching may not be the thing you need to get rid of tight muscles.

Most of the time when people are feeling stiff, tight or sore, their go-to response is to stretch. Now don’t get me wrong, stretching can be fantastic, but I’m here to explain to you why it may not be the answer to all your problems.

When we feel a muscle is “tight”, this could mean the muscle is shortened, lengthened or aggravated. Muscles can feel this way for a variety of reasons and may be related to an injury, overuse, posture or muscle weakness.

When a muscle is weak, it takes a lot more effort for the muscle to perform the job it is meant to do. This can end up with the muscle being habitually turned on and activated, leading to stiffness and pain. To put it simply, the muscle ends up being overworked as it is not strong enough to meet the demands of what you are asking it to do in your daily life. This can cause irritation to that muscle or put strain on the muscles around it which are having to work hard to compensate for that weak muscle.

When we stretch a muscle in this state, you may notice it feels better temporarily and you may even gain some range of motion. The problem is stretching is unlikely to get to the root cause of your problem.

Instead, that muscle may need to be strengthened.

When a muscle is stronger, it is easier for that muscle to move through a range of motion and control movements. You won’t need to rely on the supporting muscles as much and it won’t end up being activated all the time.

A good way to think about this is thinking about an orchestra. If you have a whole orchestra but you’re only relying on the 2 clarinet players to carry all the sound, these clarinet players are going to end up becoming extremely fatigued.

On the other hand, if you help all the other members of the orchestra practice their instrument so they can all contribute equally to the music being produced, the clarinet players are going to have some pressure taken off them and be able to relax more. This is the same thing that happens if you are relying too much on one muscle group and another group is not strong enough to support it. The muscle groups around will end up becoming exhausted which can lead to a feeling of tightness or soreness.

A Case Study - The Hip Flexor

A good example of a muscle this commonly happens to is the hip flexors. The hip flexors sit at the front of your hip and assist you in lifting your leg up towards your body (think about marching, or even just lifting your leg to take a step). When you sit down, your hip flexors are in a relaxed position. Over time they can become weak and learn to stay contracted in a shortened state, leading to the stiff or tight feeling.

If you are having a hard time picturing this, think about holding an elastic band stretched vertically in front of your hip, from below your belly button to the front of your thigh. When you stand up the band is stretched out and when you sit down the band has some slack. When we stretch our hip flexors it is likely to provide some temporary relief as you are pulling them out of that shortened state however it is likely they will return to this state shortly after.

In this scenario, I would suggest you work on strengthening the hip flexors, working them through their full range of motion. Helping this muscle become strong through the full range of motion typically leads to less feelings of tightness in your daily life.

So When Should I Stretch?

Well, this is a great question! Unfortunately, there is no clear answer - the opinions in the literature right now are still vast and strong. Stretching is a very controversial topic and there doesn’t seem to be a right answer. Personally, I like to start my workout with a dynamic warm up and some mobility exercises, and I save the last 5-10 minutes of my work out for cooling down with some stretches. If this works for you, then fantastic, but if you have a routine that seems to work well for you then continue with that!

In this blog, I hope you learned why sometimes “tight” feeling muscles may actually be weak and need strengthening, not stretching! If you have been stretching for a period of time and have not seen the results you are hoping for, give strengthening a try instead!

If you have questions or need help figuring out how to strengthen the muscles that are bugging you, be sure to book in with our registered kinesiologist for support.

Give us a call at (778) 630-8800, email us or book online to seek treatment from a physiotherapist or to work with a registered kinesiologist.

Flexibility vs. Mobility - What’s The Difference?

People often use the terms “flexibility” and “mobility” interchangeably but there is a difference! In this blog, our dance physiotherapist Anh Duong explains the difference between the two as well as why one is more advantageous than the other.

As physiotherapists we throw around the terms “flexibility” and “mobility” a lot, but what do they actually mean?

Flexibility is the ability of muscles to move through range passively (in other words, pushing to the end of the joint’s range with assistance from your hands, the wall, a strap - you get the idea) where as mobility is the ability of a joint to move through range actively, using your muscle to do the movement without assistance.

Imagine a dancer who can do the full splits when she is stretching on the ground but cannot achieve the full splits when performing a grande jeté. This dancer would be demonstrating flexibility but lacking mobility.

Ultimately, dancers should be aiming for mobility over flexibility.

How do we improve mobility?

Strengthen while you lengthen! This is achieved by working the muscles while elongating them at the same time. Some ways you can do this include:

• opting for more dynamic stretches rather than static stretches

• using bands and weights for resistance

• performing resisted holds while in an elongated position

But doesn’t being flexible help my technique?

There is a misconception that hyperflexibility will improve dance technique when it can actually do the opposite.

Think of your muscles like hair elastics. If you use the same hair elastic and stretch it and stretch and stretch it, overtime it will become long and weak and no longer be able to hold up your hair. Similarly, an overstretched muscles becomes long and weak and loses its ability to produce force which is needed for all dance movements such as kicks and jumps.

But there’s more..

Overstretching is highly dangerous and
NOT recommended

In the short term, overstretching increases the dancer’s risk of muscles strains, muscle gripping due to weakness, and snapping/pinching hips.

In the long term, overstretching can lead to stretching of other tissues such as ligaments, cartilage and joint capsules which play an integral part in joint stability.

Micro-damage accumulates over time which may lead to long term problems such as early degeneration of the joint, and chronic instability and pain.

What does overstretching look like?

• “sitting” in extreme positions for long periods of time

• Having peers or teachers pushing limbs at end ranges

• using yoga blocks or furniture as a lever to get more range

• Stretching before warming up muscles

To recap:

Dancers should be aiming for mobility over flexibility which includes incorporating strengthening and avoid stretching joints into extremes.

In this day and age, with the influence of social media and growing popularity of incorporating gymnastics and acrobatics movements into dance technique, the demand on dancers’ bodies are higher than ever and it is important that we educate dancers, parents, teachers, about safe and effective training.

To book an appointment, call (778) 630-8800, email us or book online.

Stretching!

Ahhhhhh stretching. I’m not going to lie, it’s not my favourite thing. I used to brush off my lack of flexibility with a light-hearted “sorry, I don’t bend that way” until one day a client totally called me on it! We were talking about yoga and I was saying that I preferred running and the gym because “I don’t bend that way.” And she said “saying you’re too inflexible for yoga is like saying you are too dirty for a bath. The worse you are the more you need it!” And…. I think she was absolutely right. I actually might have given her a high five.

Touché dear client, touché.

Since then I have definitely incorporated more stretching into my fitness routine. But here is the thing, it’s important to know why you are stretching. What is the goal? Are you aiming for more range? Trying to avoid injury? Trying to warm up or cool down?

A lot of people view stretching as the magical answer to preventing and healing all injuries but this simply isn’t true.

There are a lot of different categories of stretching including static, dynamic, and pre-contraction stretching (more commonly known as PNF). What I have written below applies to good old-fashioned active static stretching (meaning you are doing the stretching to yourself, not someone doing it for you).

Stretching increases blood flow to muscles, can be psychologically relaxing and increases flexibility.  That new-found flexibility has it’s own set of benefits including improved performance in physical activities and decreased risk of injury for certain activities.

Should everyone just start stretching everything right now???? Not necessarily. Again, you have to remember the goal. Below I have given a few examples to outline situations when stretching is great vs some times when it is not-so-great. These obviously are not extensive lists but I just wanted to give you an idea about some things that we as physiotherapists are thinking about before we give you a stretch.

When Is Stretching Is Not Helpful?

• If someone is hypermobile (eg. they have too much “wiggle room” in their joints) then stretching can be detrimental because they are adding even more range of motion to a joint that already moves too much! This will increase risk of injury. (A super quick screening test to tell if someone is hypermobile is to look at the Beighton Score.)

• Stretching won’t prevent an overuse injury. This is a common misconception and not supported in the research.

When Is Stretching Great?

• People who sit at a desk all day often experience muscle shortening (hamstrings, hip flexors and pectorals are major culprits). Then when these people try to be active, they have increased risk of injury because their muscles are too tight to allow full range of motion. In this instance stretching muscles can help maintain their natural length, avoid shortening, and possibly avoid an injury.

• For jumpers. Volleyball, basketball, soccer and ultimate players - we’re looking to you! During a jump the tendon and muscle are stretched as they land to absorb energy. That energy is then needed as they recoil to rebound and jump back into the air (think of a giant elastic being stretched then snapping back). If their tendon is lacking length that jumper is at higher risk of hurting themselves as they land and take off repeatedly.

• In general, most stretching is safe as long as it is done with proper form and technique.

If you are going to stretch, here are some things to consider:

• Don’t stretch cold muscles. Doing an intense stretch on cold muscles can increase your risk of injury. A brisk 5-10 minute walk could be your warm up, or something similar to the dynamic warm up (see below). Or you can do your stretches after your workout when your muscles are already nice and warm!

• Hold it, don’t bounce. You should focus on a gentle, slow, sustained stretch of at least 30 seconds. Bouncing can harm your muscles.

• Be gentle. I used to think that a stretch was only effective is my muscles felt like they were about to snap in half. But you catch more flies with honey and muscles are no exception. You should keep the intensity of your stretch at a 3/10, which is enough to feel some tension it but not enough for it to hurt. On this note, remember to breathe!

• Use caution. If you have a pre-existing injury or a chronic ongoing issue, stretching might not be the answer. Maybe you need strength instead. Maybe you need to adjust your technique with the situation that is causing the injury. We can help you figure this part out!

• Be consistent. Stretching is also similar to other types of exercise in the fact that consistency is key. Stretching two days per month will not affect your flexibility in the same way that running two days per month won’t help you with your cardio.

• Stretching does not count as a warm up. A sustained static stretch (where you hold a certain position for >20 seconds) completed before a high-power activity such as sprinting decreases power output and increases injury risk. 

Instead of starting your workout with stretching, you should be doing a dynamic warm-up: swing your legs, do some squats, jog on the spot… move the limbs and joints you are about to move gently through their range of motion before beginning the more intense part of your exercise. Spending 5-10 minutes at the beginning of your workout warming up will help lower your risk of injury.

Looking for some guidance on your stretching routine with your aches and pains? We are here for you!

Book on online appointment - call us at (778) 630-8800, email us at clinic@ladnervillagephysio.com or book online.

Happy stretching!