There are some mornings when I wake up and get out of bed – despite a really good, solid night’s sleep – that I feel like it takes a few minutes for me to straighten up or be able to move without something hurting. In fact, some nights, I feel like while I’m sleeping, someone sneaks in and twists me up like a pretzel. Morning comes, and it’s hard to unravel my body. STIFFNESS. And what is it with those creaky joints?
The high-impact activities we do may be to blame. Carrying around excess weight, the pull of gravity, dehydration (more reason to drink that water!), injuries and genetics could also be to blame. For others, it may not be arthritis; it may be just plain old aging. Muscles shrink and lose mass; the actual number and size of muscle fibers decreases, too. Put together with a sedentary lifestyle, you’re ending up stiff and sore a lot earlier and quicker than someone who hits the gym regularly. Even those who work out regularly still get sore and stiff sometimes due to one common thing I have seen in MANY different people, they don’t stretch out.
Decreased flexibility may be a common aspect of aging, but it’s one that you can do something about. A well-rounded workout not only includes cardio and strength training, but also stretching, something that usually falls by the wayside – but shouldn’t. Not only does stretching increase your flexibility, improve your circulation, improves recovery time, it helps relieve stress, too.
Static, or self-stretching is what most people do. This is great to do after working out to help muscles not tighten up. Just a few minutes of daily stretching can help maintain flexibility, which in turn keeps your muscles supple and counteracts the wear-and-tear of everyday life. By enhancing our mobility, stretching increases our efficiency in all activities so they require less effort – and leave us feeling less tired.
If you are looking to really get the most benefit out of stretching, try assisted Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST). Being assisted by another person can greatly accelerate the rate of increase in flexibility and strength. With FST you get the added benefit of traction as well, so you get the stretch from the joint all along the fascial lines which include muscle groups and not just individual muscles. We also include some PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation), which is a contraction of muscle groups while in the stretch to help release even more of the sticky fascia and allows for a deeper stretch.
Don’t delay! Book online or call us today!
