I hate stretching! How is it going to help me get out of pain? These are both common questions. When you are injured your muscles instinctively tighten up to protect your body. If the muscle tightens beyond a certain point it actually stays that way. Your body produces new blood, and in turn your body creates new tissue that heals your muscle into place. Over time this causes extremely limited flexibility and pain to occur in associated muscles. With the multidisciplinary approach, we work on breaking down your old tissue. This sounds much worse than it actually is. Your muscles are stimulated through massage, this allows you to actually get more blood flowing in and around a muscle group. The blood promotes healing and breaks down old tissue. Once that tissue is broken down there is one perfect way to get it back to its elongated form...yes you have it, stretching. After the hard work all of us do on you, your body will go through a period of healing. You will directly influence this by the amount you stretch. For example knee stretching exercise is the most important thing you will do after surgery. Don't worry, we will teach you all the stretches you need to know. Over time your muscles will begin to heal in a properly stretched out manner. This will lead to a much faster healing rate, and a greatly increased flexibility after your rehab is over. Some of you might be reading this and thinking, I haven't been injured but my muscles really hurt! This can be caused by a number of things. One is called a repetitive strain injury. This can be caused by doing one motion over and over again until your muscle exhausts itself and the motion tightens and shortens as mentioned above. You can find more causes for tightness and pain here
Today millions of people are discovering the benefits of movement. Everywhere you look they are out walking, jogging, running, playing tennis or racquetball, cycling or swimming. What do they hope to accomplish? Why this relatively sudden interest in physical fitness?
We are discovering that active people lead fuller lives. They have more stamina resist illness, and stay trim. They have more, self-confidence, are less depressed, and often, even late in life, are still working energetically at new projects.
In recent years, medical research has shown that a great deal of ill health is directly related to lack of physical activity. Awareness of this fact, along with fuller knowledge of health care, is changing lifestyles. The current enthusiasm for movement is not a fad. We now realize that the only way to prevent the diseases of inactivity is to remain active-not for a month, or a year, but for our lifetime. One in this day and age that could very easily lead you to 100!!
Our ancestors did not have the problems that go with a sedentary life; they had to work hard to survive. They stayed strong and healthy through continuous, vigorous outdoor work: chopping, digging, tilling, planting, hunting, and all their other daily activities. But with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, machines began to do the work once done by hand. As people became less active, they began to lose strength and the instinct for natural movement.
Machines have obviously made life easier, but they have also created serious problems. Instead of walking, we drive; rather than climb stairs, we use elevators; while once we were almost continuously active, we now spend much of our lives sitting. Without daily physical exertion, our bodies become storehouses of unreleased tensions. With no natural outlets for our tensions, our muscles become weak and tight, we lose touch with our physical nature, with life's energies.
But times are changing. The 2000's have brought us a critical awareness of the necessity for a healthy life. We have found that health is something we can control, that we can prevent poor health and disease. We are no longer content to sit and stagnate. Now, we are moving, rediscovering the joys of an active, healthy life. What's more, we can resume a more healthy and rewarding existence at any age.
The body's capacity for recovery is phenomenal. For example, a surgeon makes an incision, removes or corrects the problem, then sews you back up. At this point, the body takes over and heals itself. Nature finishes the surgeons job. All of us have this seemingly miraculous capacity for regaining health, whether it be from something as drastic as surgery, or from poor physical condition caused by lack of activity and a bad diet. Chiropractic, Physical therapy, and Massage therapy all begin to unlock your bodies incredible healing powers.
What does STRETCHING have to do with all this? It is the important link between the sedentary life and the active life. It keeps the muscles supple, prepares you for movement, and helps you make the daily transition from inactivity to vigorous activity without undue strain. It is especially important if you run, cycle, play tennis or engage in other strenuous exercises, because activities like these promote tightness and inflexibility. Stretching before and after you work out will keep you flexible and help prevent common injuries such as shin splints or Achilles tendinitus from running, and sore shoulders or elbows from tennis. It will keep that back pain away, keep your leg cramps away. Never stretching would be like never taking your car to the mechanic, what do you think would happen to your car? If you are a snowboarder or skier and never do quadriceps stretching...guess what, you will get injured. It is only a matter of time. Starting to see the importance?
With the tremendous number of people exercising now, the need for correct information is vital. Stretching is easy, but when it is done incorrectly, it can actually do more harm than good. For this reason it is essential to understand the right techniques. At South Bay Sports & Injury Center we will teach you these techniques.
Stretching feels good when done correctly. you do not have to push limits or attempt to go further each day. It should not be a personal contest to see how far you can stretch. Stretching should be tailored to your particular muscular structure, flexibility, and a varying tension levels. The key is regularity and relaxation. The object is to reduce muscular tension and pain, thereby promoting freer movement and flexibility.
There is now way to fix yourself in a day. Begin with a realistic goal we will help you with. Ultimately all the studies show that stretching 4-5 times a day if you are tight or in pain is the best way to get you out of that pain and tightness. If you can begin with 2-3 times a day and move up that is perfect.
You will learn to enjoy movement, the freedom that comes with it. You will begin to see results and feel your energy coming back. Give it time and it will pay off.