A lot of our members at Saratoga Health and Wellness are interested in improving flexibility. Today I want to hit a few interesting points that many people are unaware of. Armed with these concepts, you’ll be well on your way to making a bigger and better impact on muscle length and improved flexibility. Here goes.
When tension is placed upon a muscle, in the form of a ‘stretch’, certain things happen. First of all, there exist these neat, little tension receptors called Golgi Tendon Organs and muscle spindles, which are essentially little sensors that let the body know that the muscles are being stretched. These sensors send signals back to the brain and let the brain know that the joints which are crossed by the tense muscles might be in danger. Danger exists if the joint gets extended beyond it’s typical range of motion, and these sensors once stimulated actually cause a muscle to contract as joint protection. Here’s where things get interesting. When you first stretch your muscles, the initial reaction is that of a muscle contraction (This really happens unbeknownst to you), but after 3-4 seconds of a controlled stretch, the muscles relax and can then begin to lengthen. This occurs because the sensors are inhibited after a certain amount of time, and the realization that the joint is in no danger of injury.
So, knowing this, it becomes apparent that the best way to stretch is to be sure that a slow, steady, controlled tension is placed on the muscle, without bouncing or bobbing. You should hold stretches a minimum of 15-30 seconds, and ideally should try to accumulate close to a minute for each stretch. Research tells us that longer is better, especially if we are to have a lasting impact on muscle length. So go ahead, stretch out, and be sure to hold that stretch long enough. Aim for a minute of total stretch time.