Stretching

What is stretch therapy?

“Stretch therapy” is an umbrella term for various techniques that treat physical issues linked to muscle and joint restriction. It aims to improve range of motion and performance and help prevent future injuries by working with your fascia, muscles, and tendons.

The fascia is a thin and stretchy layer of connective tissue that surrounds your organs, bones, nerves, and muscles. It has multiple layers filled with liquid to allow for smooth movement (smoothment?).

Certain factors can cause the fascia to become thick and sticky (thicky? OK, we’ll stop). This means it tightens around your muscles, limiting your mobility.

Stretch therapy is a scientific system that includes:

• massage
• myofascial release
• foam rolling
• specific physical exercises
• passive and active stretching

The goal is to remodel and strengthen your fascia so your movement is re-patterned and you can do even ordinary tasks with more ease and flexibility.

For some people, it’s a game-changer. And you don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from stretch therapy — everyone can benefit.

What can stretch therapy treat?

Stretch therapy aims to treat:

• movement restrictions and distortions
• muscle and tissue tightness
• aches and pains

The idea is that stretch therapy increases or improves range of motion, reducing your likelihood of injuries. (Hooray! Injuries suck!)

Even if you’re not an athlete, your everyday life likely involves performing repetitive actions. Over time, this may lead to imbalances and pain. Injuries can further change your movement patterns, leading to restrictions and potentially even more injuries.

You may be able to address these imbalances by increasing the flexibility of the muscles, tendons, and fascia around your joints.

Most research on stretch therapy isn’t conclusive. Some studies show that consistently applied stretch therapy techniques can improve the flexibility of muscles and connective tissue. But that means you’ll need to maintain a stretching routine to see improvements.

What does a typical stretch therapy session look like?

A stretch therapist tailors your program to your unique needs.

They’ll apply various techniques and exercises to improve your range of motion and quality of life. This means your stretch therapy sessions will probably look vastly different from your Uncle Joe’s. The motions your therapist recommends may also change as your condition improves.

If you’ve never been to stretch therapy before, your session will likely start with a thorough physical exam. Your therapist will ask you about your particular injury. If stiffness or limited movement is your main issue, they’ll evaluate your:

• medical history
• posture
• movement
• flexibility
• range of motion

Your therapist will then create a treatment plan to address your issues and aim to prevent any further injuries. Sessions may involve whole-body stretches from head to toe or focus on a particularly stiff or troublesome area.

A session might involve a series of low impact stretching exercises to strengthen or stretch an area and relieve your discomfort. The therapist may use myofascial release, meaning they use their hands, fingers, or elbows or other equipment to apply pressure directly to the tissues where your muscles are restricted or knotted.

They’ll often follow this by applying ice and heat treatment to the area.

After the stretch session, you might feel more flexible and mobile right away, as your tension decreases and your circulation enjoys a boost. But you may feel some soreness the next day, like you would from hitting the gym after a break.

What about fascial stretch therapy?

During fascial stretch therapy (FST), you’ll lie on a massage table and a therapist will jiggle and wiggle your connective tissue (fascia). FST focuses on the whole connective tissue system throughout your body rather than on isolated muscles and tissues in the affected area.

The therapist focuses on your joint capsules, starting at the deepest level and progressing through all the layers of your fascia. They’ll assess your range of motion and try to restore full function. This will lend a (flexible) helping hand to your strength, flexibility, and performance.

You shouldn’t feel any pain during this therapy, and many people experience almost instant results. Your therapist will also help you develop a home exercise program so you can continue making improvements outside your appointments.

Benefits of stretch therapy

Stretch therapy may be able to help you:

• increase your flexibility and range of motion
• improve blood flow to your muscles
• improve your posture
  reduce or prevent back pain
• reduce stress and calm your mind
• boost your performance in physical activities
• reach things on the top shelf

OK, maybe not the last one. But does research back it up? Well, kinda. A 2014 study found that stretching helps improve muscle function, mobility, and performance.

But there haven’t been any large-scale studies to confirm the benefits of stretch therapy. A small 2012 study in people ages 60 to 70 suggests that stretch therapy techniques might help improve the range of motion in the shoulders and hips.

And research from 2020 suggests that stretching exercises can reduce injury rates and reduce the risk of non-contact injuries during soccer training.

Nevertheless, other research back in 2012 found that stretching doesn’t benefit everyone, and responses may vary depending on your athletic and medical history.

If you’ve been cleared by a qualified medical professional to try stretch therapy, it should have only positive effects. It could help improve your range of motion and athletic performance, even if that involves bending down to cut your toenails rather than doing the 100-meter hurdles.