Stetching – The Right Way

Why Stretch ?

Stretching relaxes your mind, tunes up your body and should be part of your daily life.

You will find that regular stretching does the following things:

• It prepares the body for activity – it signals to the muscles that they are about to be used.
• It reduces the risk of muscle injury
• It prevents post exercise stiffness and soreness
• It restores full flexibility after an injury which means a faster return to sport
• It improves performance in your sport by increasing co-ordination and range of movement
• It reduces muscle tension making the body feel more relaxed
• It promotes circulation

…and it feels good!

When to Stretch?

At this stage in your training you should have developed a daily 10 minute stretching routine. Before training, stretching is most effective if carried out after 5 – 10 minute warm up. Warming up increases the blood flow to the muscles and prepares the body for the ensuing sporting activity. After you exercise, it is advisable to do a 10 – 15 minute cool down and then to carry out your stretches again.

How To Stretch?

Stretching is easy to learn, but there is a right and a wrong way to stretch.

The right way: a relaxed, sustained stretch with your attention focused on the muscles being stretched.

The wrong way: bouncing up and down or stretching into pain. This actually strains the muscle and also activates a stretch reflex which makes the muscles contract/tighen instead of stretching out.
So remember:

• Stretch until you feel a mild tension in the muscle relax and hold for 10-30 seconds.
• Your breathing should be slow and under control – do not hold your breath.
• Do not stretch into pain – it is not a case of “no pain – no gain”.
• Do not jerk or bounce
• Repeat at least 3 times on each side

Information available at this site should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Always see your practitioner if suffering an illness or injury, with regard to your treatment options.

Is an effective means of decreasing inflammation and soft tissue swelling and therefore decreasing pain and muscle disfunction, in the first 24 – 72 hours following injury.

(If inflammation is still present in 72 hours A visit to your proffesional therapist or doctor is advised.)

• An ice pack
• Ice cubes/ice bag
• Bag of frozen peas

To avoid the danger of an ICEBURN to the skin, any of the above should be wrapped in a cold damp towel before application.

Never Place Ice Directly in contact with your skin

• Place the joint/limb in an elevated and supported position and apply the ice pack
• Leave in place for a maximum of 10 – 15 minutes only
• Apply 3 – 4 times daily for best results