STRETCHING

Many of us don't think about stretching when preparing for a sporting event or even regular daily activities. Stretching is not only important before and after activity, but throughout the day, even first thing in the morning. It helps to keep your muscles supple, prepares you for movement, and helps you make the transition from inactivity to vigorous activity. Flexibility is vitally important in preventing injuries to tendons, muscles and fascia.

 

Those of us that do stretch, often do so improperly, creating the opposite effect on the tissues and potentially damaging then as well. Your muscles contain a mechanism called the stretch reflex. Every time the muscle is overstretched or "bounced", a signal is sent to the muscle telling it to contract (in order to protect itself). As a result, your muscles are actually tightening up, which can lead to tearing, the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish. Stretching should be a peaceful, relaxing, painless experience.

"No pain, no gain" is a phrase NEVER heard in the stretching world.
IT IS NOT A CONTEST with a friend to see who can touch their toes, or who can reach the furthest. Everybody's body is different.

How To Stretch

When starting a certain stretch spend 20-30 seconds in an easier stretch than the one you will eventually be doing. This techniques prepares the muscle for the full stretch.You should feel a mild tension in the stretched area, which should subside in a small period of time. After the tension has subsided, move slightly further until you feel that mild tension once more and hold.

Breathing into a stretch allows you to relax, allowing for a further stretch.  You should exhale while going in and keep a steady, slow and rhythmical pace. DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! A stretch should not impede your normal breathing pattern. If it does, ease up on the stretch.

Heating before stretching is very beneficial. Make sure to use a moist type of heat to help relax the muscles, allowing for a further stretch. Click here to read on icing and heating procedures.

Please read through the instruction accompanying the stretches rather than just going off the pictures. Your body needs to be in the proper position, and the stretch needs to be done properly for you to get the full effect.

If a stretch hurts with mild tension, DON'T DO IT!
Consult your health care practitioner before commencing a stretching routine, especially one that involves an injured or unstable area.

Heat:

Using some type of moist  heat before commencing your stretching exercises is a good way to loosen up your muscles and let your mind and body relax. Superficial heat, like a heating pad, won't penetrate deep enough into the tissues . Take a  hot tub, bath, or apply a moist heat pack (available at most drug stores), in the area you wish to stretch for about 10-20 minutes prior to your routine.

Thera-Bands:

Available in our office for a small price, Thera-Bands are great for stretching and strengthening exercises. They come in different strengths, indicated by different colors. They are superior to using towels in that they provide resistance through their flexible and stretchy fabric.

 

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Forearm Stretches:

The forearm is made up of many muscles. They serve to flex and extend the forearm, wrist and fingers. They also pronate (turn the palm downwards) and supinate (turn the palm upwards).

 

    Hand Exercises
  To warm up the wrists, interlock your fingers with your palms touching. Rotate your wrist clockwise 10 times, then counterclockwise 10 times slowly.
  Slowly form fists with your hands, using your muscles for resistance. 
  Spread you hand and fingers out and hold for 10 seconds
    Pronator Exercises
  Bent the arm at the elbow and use the opposite arm to push the fingers back. Turn the wrist inwards. Hold.
 

Do the same as above with the arm straight. Hold.

    Flexor Exercises:
 

Sitting on a chair, place your hands beside you with the fingers pointing backwards. Lean your upper body forward. Hold. This can be done with the elbow straight and then with the elbows bent.

 

Bent the arm at the elbow with the palm facing away from you. Use your opposite hand to grab the pinky and ring fingers and bend them down. Hold.

 

Bend your elbow at a 90 degree angle so that your palms are together at the front of your body. Press the hands downwards, keeping the palms together. Hold

  Turn your hands so that your fingers are facing downwards. Keep the palms together while you pull the hands towards your face. Hold.
    Thumb Flexor
 

With the elbow bent at your side, use your opposite hand to grab the thumb and pull it straight back towards your arm. Hold.

     
  With the arm at the side and your palm facing back, stretch you hand back in a cupping motion. Rotate your fingers away from you. Hold. To intensify this stretch, make a fist.

 

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Hip/Glut Stretches:

The hip is a mojor muscle attachment area and is also an extremely movable joint. To properly stretch it you should incorporate Upper Leg Stretches.

Sitting in a chair bend one knee so that it's ankle rests above the knee of the opposite leg. Use your arm to push the knee down. Hold.

 

 


Sitting down with one leg straight out, pull the other leg into your body so that the knee is bent and you are hugging your leg.  Hold.

 

 



Sit down with one leg out and the other bent so that the knee is facing the ceiling. Rotate your body towards the side of the bent knee. Use the oposite elbow to push on the outside of that knee. Hold.

 

 

Lie down. Bend one knee and bring it across the body. Use the sam side hand as the bent knee to stabilize, use the opposite hand to push the knee down. Hold. You can get different types of stretches when you adjust the knee towards and away from you or with the leg straight if you can.

 


Lying down, bend one knee so that the lower leg is perpendicular (horizantal) to the body. Bend the other knee so that the knee cap faces the ceiling (parallel to the body). Grab behind the paralel knee and pull it in towards the body. Hold.

 

 

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Lower Leg Stretches

Gastrocnemius & Soleus: Two muscles located on the back of the lower leg, the gastroc is closest to the surface with the soleus directly underneath it. They make up the Achilles tendon, and serve to point the toes. The gastrocnemius crosses the knee joint just slightly, therefore a straight knee is important when stretching. Bending the knee will help to take the gastroc out of the stretch in order to focus more on the soleus muscle.


Standing, face a wall or other sturdy,flat structure. With the feet shoulder width apart, place the foot you wish to stretch behind you. Bend the front knee until you can feel the stretch in your lower leg. Keep the knee of the leg being stretch straight and the feet flat on the floor. If you cannot feel the stretch as much as you'd like adjust it by bringing the foot back further.

 

 

 


This stretch is similar to the first except that the back knee is bent rather than straight. Again, this takes the gastroc out of the stretch, letting you feel it more in the soleus. Make sure to keep the feet flat.

If this is too hard, try holding on to the ledge of a desk with your hands. Have your bum sticking out (away from the desk), feet shoulder width apart and bend one or both knees.

 

 

Tibialis Anterior: Located just on the outside of the shin bone, this muscle is important for bringing the foot up towards the ceiling (dorsiflexion) and away from the body (eversion). When someone has shin splints this muscles is responsible.


Using a thera-band or towel, hook it around the bottom on your foot so that you can hold on to the ends. Hand the leg not being stretch folded in at the thigh. The other should be straight out in front of you. You can lean up against a wall for back support if needed. Point your toes and twist your foot towards the body. Hold. Then twist the foot away from the body with the toes pointed. Hold. Twist the foot both ways again but with the toes pointing towards you. Perform these stretches with the knee bent as well.

 

Another way to stretch the lower leg is from a sitting position. This may be a tough stretch for extremely inflexible people. Bend the knee and bring the foot towards the body, either rest it on the other leg or have it touching the stomach. Use your hands to point the foot and toes and rotate the foot towards the body. Hold

 

 

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Upper Leg Stretches

Adductors: Your adductors serve to bring your leg towards the body, they are commonly referred to as the groin muscles because most are located in the inner thigh.

Start by sitting on the floor with the soles of your feet together and the knees away from you. Pull your feet towards you body until you get a slight stretch. Make sure you back is straight and your shoulders are relaxed. For added stability you can lean your back up against a wall while performing this stretch. For a more advanced stretch, place your hands on the inside of your knees and press down. Hold.

A variation is to lean from the hip towards one knee, then the other.
This exercise is similar to the first except the legs are straight out from the body. Again, a wall can be used for back stability. Lean forward with your back straight. Hold. Many of us will feel a good stretch just sitting straight up.

Standing up, keep both feet straight forward and bend one knee while keeping the leg you wish to stretch straight. Place both hands on top of the bent knee and push your bum down to the floor (do not bend forward from the back!). Hold.

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Hamstring Stretches

Hamstrings: Your hamstrings consist of three muscles that run from the bone of the bum to both sides of the back of the knee. In order for them to be properly stretched, you must incorporate both the hip and the knee joints. They play a vital role in hip placement, when tight they pull on the butt bone (ischial tuberosity) putting torsion on the sacroiliac joint of the lower back. Many of us tend to ignore these long muscles when they are actually one of the most important ones to take care of.

When doing the sitting stretches KEEP THE BACK STRAIGHT, when doing the lying down stretches, KEEP THE BACK FLAT on the floor, do not arch your back! You should feel these in your buttocks/hips and the back of your leg. Someone with a tight lower back may fell it there as well.

  Start in a lying down position. Grab behind the knee and bring ring one knee at a time to the chest, let the lower leg rest. Hold. Follow with both knees at the same time. Hold.
  Use the opposite hand to grab behind one knee and pull it across the body to the armpit. Hold.
 
If you're comfortable with it, you can straighten out one leg at a time and pull it towards you by grabbing behind the knee. It may also be done with both legs. Use these stretches rather than the sitting ones below if you have lower back pain/problems.
  While sitting down, bend one knee by bringing the foot to the opposite inner thigh. With your arms straight out in front of you, bend from the hips and reach towards your toes. DO NOT BEND YOUR BACK. Hold.
  A variation to the stretch above is to across the body to the outside of the foot. BEND FORM THE HIPS. Hold.
  If you cannot reach your toes or are uncomfortable with the previous stretch, wrap a towel around your toes and slightly pull on the end with your arms until you feel a mild stretch. Hold.
  Try the above exercise with both legs out. You may use the towel around the toes, if uncomfortable. Hold.
  This is a variation on the last adductor exercise listed above. If you cannot bend as far as the lady in the picture don't worry. Only go as far as you can without pain.
Start from standing up. Bend one leg and point the toes on the other foot AWAY from you, keeping the leg straight. Bend down, keeping the back straight, until you feel a slight stretch on the inner thigh/back of the leg. You may place your hands in front of you for stability if you can reach. Hold.

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Quadricep Stretches


Quadriceps: Your quads consist of 4 muscles that run from the front of the hip and thigh into the patellar tendon (the tendon under the knee cap that attaches onto the top of the shin bone). Again it is important to address both the hip and knee joint.

Illiotibial Band (IT Band): The illiotibial band is actually fascia (connective tissue that doesn't contract) that starts from the top of the hip, and runs into the outside of the knee. It serves as a knee stabilizer. A major attachment point is with a muscle called the tensor fascia latta (TFL) that is located at the side of the hip bone. When tight, the IT band can adhere to one of your quadriceps muscles, causing extreme pain (a condition known as illiotibial band syndrome, commonly seen in runners.)

It is important to stretch both of these areas together, because they are so closely related.

 

Stand with your feet shoulder length apart. Bring one foot up, towards to your bum. Reach behind you and grab your foot with both hands and pull slightly. For balance, bend the knee of the leg you are standing on just slightly. Hold.

This stretch may also be done lying down on your side.
 

In a lunge position make sure that your front knee is directly on top of your toes. You can either have your back knee rested on the floor or have the back foot on the ball of the foot. We recommend trying both. Your hands can either rest on top of the knee or have one hand on the inside of the foot and the other on the outside for balance. REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT.

A variation is to have both hands on the inside of the foot, lightly pressing your upper body down.
 

Stand sideways beside a wall. Bring your outside leg behind your other leg, this might be enough of a stretch for people with tight IT bands. If not, take your outside arm over your head towards the wall. Hold. Tight abdominal muscles might prevent you from feeling this on the outside of your leg.
 

A variation to the above stretch. Lie down on your side on a bed or another raised surface. Your bum should be right on the edge. Bring the top leg behind and below the one one the bed. Again, this might be enough of a stretch. If not, bring your uppermost arm over your head (at the side).

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Neck Stretches

Start by warming up the area. Bring one ear to the shoulder and rotate your head to the other side. We do not reccomend bringing your head backwards unless advised to do so by a health practitioner. Take your time, do it slowly, breathing through the rotations. Make sure to have your shoulders relaxed suring these excersises, unless you are using them to intensify the stretch.

 

Rotate your head to one side so that you are looking straight out over your shoulder (like you're doing a shoulder check). Make sure that your head is straight, not tilted to the side, not looking up or down. To intensify the stretch - pull the opposite shoulder back and down. HOLD YOUR STRETCHES FOR ATLEAST 20 SECONDS.
 
Use one hand (right) to reach over your head and grab just above the opposite ear (left). Making sure your head is straight, pull your ear (right) to your shoulder (right). Hold. To intensify this stretch, put the opposite (left) arm behind your back.
 
Look straight down, let your head hang from your shoulders. Press down with both shoulders, both hands behind your back.
  Bring your nose to your armpit. For some people this is enough of a stretch. To intensify it, slightly pull on the head towards the shoulder with the arm on the same side as the armpit you're looking to.

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Shoulder Stretches:

Your shoulder is made up of two main joints. Your glenohumeral joint (GH), the attachment of your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade, and your Aromioclavicular joint (AC) the attachment of your shoulder blade to your collar bone. The scapulothoracic area is located at the back of the shoudler and holds the shoulder blade to the back of the ribs. It's made up of muscles and their tendons.

The rotator cuff is made up four muscles, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Subscapularis. Most people use the acronym S.I.T.S. muscles to describe them. They not only move the shoulder but provide it with strength and stability.

   
Start off with some simple shoulder shrugs. Bring your shoulder to your ears with your arms straight down and hold for 5 seconds, then bring your shoulders down so that your hands a really reaching for the ground. Hold for 5 seconds. Breath in while your shoulders are up and breath out while reaching down. Repeat this exercise atleast 5 times.
Link your fingers and really reach your arms straight out in front so that your palms are facing outwards. Hold.
Do the same above your head. Hold.
Tilt your upper body towards one side. Remember to keep your back straight and lean from the hips. Hold.
With your palms facing towards you and your hands behind your back, reach up and away from the body.
  Pinch your shoulders together at the back with your arms hanging down. Imagine that you're trying to squeeze a ball between your shoulders. Hold.
Bring one arm behind your back, keeping the lebow straight. Reach across your back and grab that arm with your opposite arm.

With your arms overhead, hold the elbow of one arm with the hand of the other arm. Pull the elbow back. Hold. Do the other arm.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees slightly. Bend your right elbow and put your hand behind your back from an overhead position. Grab behind the elbow with your opposite hand. Bend from your hips to the side. Hold. Do both sides.
  Bend your elbow in front of your chest. Use the other arm to push it towards you, just above the elbow. Hold. Perform the same stretch on both sides, then again with the elbow straight
  Stand in a doorway or next to a wall so that your shoulders are in line with the wall. Place your hand on the wall with the elbow bent, your arm should be at shoulder height. Turn your body so that you are looking away from your arm. Hold.You can experiment by moving your arm up and down on the wall, see what gets you the best stretch. Also, try this stretch with the elbow straight.


 

 

 

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