Just Read....
Stretching……
If you are like me – you’ll quickly ignore this blog because who has time for stretching? Stretching is no fun, yeah I know I should but blah, blah blah.
I am also absolutely guilty. I know it’s important, I know my body feels better, but…..I just “don’t have time”. Here is a brief list of the importance of stretching for you to skim over……skim if you must – experiment on myself down below.
It improves muscle development
It improves posture
It reduces the chance of injury
It increases the blood and nutrient supply to muscles
It reduces muscle soreness after training.
Do any of these lines sound familiar?
You have to hold a stretch for 60 seconds to get the benefit.
Hold each stretch for 2 minutes – that is when your stretch reflex releases.
Don't bounce in the stretch -- you'll tear your muscle.
Ballistic stretching is the most beneficial.
You must stretch before a workout.
Don’t stretch a cold muscle.
Experiment
So I have been battling on and off hip discomfort for years now – dabbled in yoga, massage, stretching, and rolfing. Went to my physician who recommended I go to Physical Therapy – but opted not to, cause it would be too much work. :)
So yesterday I made a Chiropractic appointment and he assessed me and adjusted my hips. Stated that my hamstrings and other muscles in that area are tight; hence torquing my hip out of alignment. Left the office with zero pain and with a handful of stretches I was instructed to do a few times/day for 2 weeks.
He recommended Active Isolated Stretching. You can research if you want to know more in detail – but basically you hold for no longer than two seconds and repeat 8-10 times. Since it wouldn’t take very much time – I figured I could commit to 2 weeks. (the next appointment we scheduled to make sure it didn’t revert back)
Week 1 was okay – I did the 3xs a day the first few days but like anything….faded, missed one day – but pretty much did at least all stretches once per day. Week 2 – I forgot a few days but did manage to do 1x per day for most of the days.
Conclusion
If you know me, you know I don’t recommend anything I haven’t tried myself. With this being said my hip pain still has not returned. I went to the Chiropractor today for a follow up and my hip are still in alignment. (I used to work for a Chiropractor and he would have to adjust the same hip every few weeks) So……..is there something about this stretching thing????? Should I stop and see if the pain comes back or should I keep it up since it obviously is working?
What would you do?