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We all love to stretch, imagine that feeling after a great night’s sleep when you wake up and sit on the edge of the bed and take a big, long stretch!
Stretching is a brilliant way to mobilise the muscles, ligaments, and tendons, to release tension and ease pain. So, this week I thought we would talk a little more about stretching, where we should stretch AND… when NOT to stretch!
Yes, stretching can also be a bad thing if done too much. I used to work with touring professional ballet dancers as they came through Cardiff when I worked down there. Now, these ballet dancers really were exceptional athletes with amazing capability, however, because they were so flexible, there was a lot of imbalances and weaknesses associated with it.
If we take a moment to think about our spine, it is essentially a stack of 24 bones, one on top of another. Held together by ligaments, tendons and muscles. Now imagine if one bone or a particular part of the spine was to become unstable due to its alignment. What would the muscles surrounding it do?
That’s right! They would go tight, to protect and stabilise the area. And therefore, if we were to stretch through here it might be counter-intuitive and cause more instability and problems long term. I’m sure you have all had it, that time where you had a good stretch and it helps, granted the area felt easier, only to become tight again later that day. That is because the body is very intelligent and will only cause tightness for a reason.
So, what can we do?
For the sake of this week and to keep it simple, let’s focus on the lower back. For many of us, pain here is a common thing, and after a long day sitting for a while in the garden, the area becomes tight.
As we just mentioned this is usually due to an issue in the lower back for which your body wants to protect, so my contention is, let us NOT stretch the back. Instead, let us focus on the hips and other areas to take pressure off the back and allow it to calm down.
1. Stretch the hip flexors: When tight these will put more stress on the low back. They are tightened by long periods of sitting or bending.
Click here to see how to stretch your hip flexors.
2. Stretch the hamstrings: Like the hip flexors, these become tight with prolonged sitting or even a short time gardening.
Click here to see how to stretch your hamstrings.
3. Put some tiger balm or deep heat onto the lower back or the area that is sore and go for a walk. This will alleviate the pain temporarily and allow you to get some comfort.
So, remember, stretch daily and gently. Move into areas of tightness and get the body moving. BUT be aware when muscles are tight and painful at the same time. Are they tight for a reason? Try stretching around the area, not right at the area of pain, and see how that helps.
And, if it simply is not going away, speak to your chiropractor to find out what is going on under the surface.
With love
Tom
