Stretching buys a short window of easier movement. It does not lengthen tissue, and used on its own it keeps people comfortable without making them any more robust. What belongs in that window is loading, plus knowing the four things not to stretch.
Stretching produces a real but short lived change in how far a joint will move, and it feels good while it lasts. What it does not do is permanently lengthen anything. The tissue is the same length an hour later, which is why the relief needs repeating.
That makes stretching useful rather than central. It opens a window in which you can move more comfortably, and the thing worth doing inside that window is loading, not more stretching. Used on its own it tends to keep somebody comfortable without making them any more robust.
Frequency beats duration for most people. A short sequence several times a day does more than one long session, and it survives a busy week better, which is the same argument made under loading work, visit count and soft tissue work, where the window matters more than the technique.
A short window
Between visits
What to do between appointments in Toronto
Little and often
A short sequence a few times a day outperforms one long session and survives a busy week.
Move, then load
Use the easier window stretching opens to do the strengthening work rather than more stretching.
Stay off the symptom
Nothing on the list should reproduce the pain you came in with. Mild discomfort is fine, sharp is not.
Keep the list short
Two or three things you will actually do are worth more than a printed sheet of ten.
Honest limits
The four things not to stretch
An irritated nerve is the main one. If a hamstring stretch sends pain or electrical sensation down the leg, that is not tightness being released, it is a nerve being pulled on, and repeating it daily usually makes the next week worse rather than better.
A muscle strained in the last few days is the second, and a joint that already moves too much is the third. Stretching something hypermobile adds range nobody needed and takes away the stability that was holding it together. Sharp pain of any kind is a stop signal.
Anything that reproduces your worst symptom is worth raising at the next appointment rather than pushing through on your own. Two or three things done consistently is a better list than ten abandoned by Wednesday. The pattern that decides which is which sits under sciatica, nerve involvement and safe lifting.
4Things not to stretch: an irritated nerve, a fresh strain, a loose joint, anything sharp
0Permanent length gained by stretching tissue
3Items on a list most people will actually keep doing
Related
What stretches connect to
The pages on loading work, on nerve symptoms, and on the technique used in the clinic.
Anything specific to you belongs in the examination rather than on a page.
Not permanently. It changes how far a joint will move for a while, which feels useful and is useful, but the tissue is the same length again within the hour.
Less than the internet suggests, and more often. A short hold repeated several times through the day does more for most people than one long session in the evening.
Because you may be pulling on an irritated nerve rather than a tight muscle. Pain or electrical sensation travelling down the leg is a reason to stop and mention it.
Not in the first few days. Gentle movement within comfort is better than stretching into a muscle that has just been injured, which tends to extend the irritation rather than settle it.
Then more range is not what you need. Stretching a joint that already moves too much removes stability you were relying on, and strengthening is the more useful direction entirely.
A mild pulling sensation is fine and expected. Sharp pain, electrical sensation, or a reproduction of the symptom you came in with are all signals to stop rather than push through.
Because a short list gets done and a long one gets abandoned. Two or three things performed consistently for a month beat ten performed enthusiastically for four days.
You can, and you will stay roughly as fragile as you started. Stretching opens a comfortable window, and loading is what makes the window less necessary over time.
Two or three things, several times a day, nothing that reproduces your symptom, and strengthening work inside the easier window rather than more stretching.
