Stop Stretching (Part 1)
Let’s re-think stretching. Maybe even stop doing it. Don’t worry. I’ll explain why. It may go against what you’ve heard, but I have my reasons.
I know you think you want to be more flexible. I know you think stretching helps various aches and pains and injuries, but that may not be the case. As a matter of fact, stretching may hurt you in the long run. Follow me. I promise I’ll land the plane safely.
Soft tissue injuries, (injuries involving muscles, tendons, or ligaments), tend to happen when tissues are put into an extreme range of motion (ROM). Stretching, by its nature, puts soft tissue into extreme ROM. Stretching can condition tissues to go into extreme ROM during common movement.
So, what constitutes an extreme range of motion?
Any position that puts your muscles outside of a normal range of motion. The important thing to know is that everyone’s normal ROM is different.
Wouldn’t stretching extend your normal ROM? Possibly, but here’s the key:
If you don’t have the strength or movement quality to hold these positions, that leads to soft tissue injuries that lead people to start stretching in the first place. That’s a bad cycle to get into.
That may make sense, but what do you do about those aches and pains?
Work on mobility and strength.
First, let’s talk about the difference between mobility and flexibility. They’re related, but there’s a distinction:
Mobility is about how well you move while flexibility is about your ROM from a static position.
It’s like the difference between picking something up off the ground (mobility) versus standing still and touching your toes (flexibility). You likely pick things up all the time but probably don’t touch your toes much.
Mobility work is individual, and dozens of books have been written on the subject, (I recommend “Pain Free” by Pete Egoscue), and while anything I write shouldn’t be taken as medical advice, I’ll just say that lots of issues I see stem from poor shoulder and/or hip movement.
Here’s 2 easy tests you can do to check your basic mobility. All you need is a wall.
Hip test:
Stand with your back against a wall.
Take a step forward.
Push your butt back to the wall and keep it there.
Are your knees bent more than 15-20 degrees?
Shoulder test:
Stand with your back to a wall and touch it with your butt, upper back, and the back of your head if possible. If you can’t, simply keep your eyes straight ahead.
Maintain that 3-point wall contact reach forward, making your arms as long as you can.
Pull your shoulder blades back against the wall.
Are your elbows bent?
If you answered yes to either of those questions you may need some mobility work.
In my next article you’ll learn a few mobility exercises we do for your hips and shoulders.
