autostretching0006

Until recently it hasn’t been widely known that these kinds of trouble can be prevented by sensible stretching - and that it helps alleviate them once they’re there. ,

General rules for treating tight muscles

Before you can start stretching, your joints must always be able to move nonnally. The stretching should be fełt only in the muscles, not in the joints -so always check the joints involved, by moving them as far as they should go, before you attempt an exercise.

If you’ve got a recent muscle or tendon injury of any kind, you must consult a specialist before you start stretching.

There are times when a shortened tissue can help stabilize a joint, e. g. if you don’t quite have the control of a joint after an accident, a paralysation or other injury. In such cases, too, a specialist should be consulted before any exercises are started.

Various types of mobility exercise

Many people have got injured by the wrong kind of physical training. Most of us don’t realise how important it is to finish a workout session with mobility exercises - stretching. The harder the workout, the stiffer and morę injured the muscles are likely to be, and the morę they need stretching.

There are two basie types of stretching:

•    Ballistic stretching.

•    'Controlled, gradual stretching’.

Ballistic stretching is an active, hard and rapid stretching which aims to make the body able to move well. But this type of exercise carries a considerable risk of overstretching, sińce the lengthening of muscles is relatively uncontrolled, with great force and long lever arms. Such violent stretches provoke a protective reflex: the muscle contracts ’to save it-self’. Thus the effect may well be the opposite of the one intended. Because movements are often uncontrolled, they can cause muscle tears and injuries to tendons, ligaments, joints and even spinał dises.

The most common ballistic stretching exercise is trying to put your palms on the floor while standing with knees straight. When this is done quickly and powerfully, it is very dangerous for the lower spine.

Gymnasts often use quick forward and baekward bends, to ’tie themselves in knots’. In time, the lower spinał structures give in to this great strain, and the joints start moving too much. This can cause a lot of trouble: first, a tired feeling, then persistent aches that gradually get worse. The object of a stretching exercise must be to improve a function, not to impair it - so never do ballistic exercises.

Examples of ballistic exercises:

6