Everything You Need to Know About Stretching
Stretching (or lack thereof) is one of the most commonly misunderstood and misused activities for most casual athletes, often leading you to a session with a sports injury specialist for some intensive sports physiotherapy . Here’s some useful information on the mechanics, techniques and best practices for stretching, from Form + Function Physio in Richmond . What Does Stretching Do? Stretching is a bit like flossing our teeth – we all know we should do it, but we’re not quite sure how it helps. The interesting thing is that what stretching does on a neural and muscular level isn’t very well known – we know it improves flexibility and range of movement, but we’re not quite sure how. Current thinking is that increases in flexibility are partly due to neural mediated effects of stretch tolerance, as well as histological effects on the muscles and tendons. Pretty technical, but the fact remains that it improves range of motion and flexibility when done right. It also helps relieve ten