Stretching

Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Whether you’re a serious athlete, or regular stretch therapy can positively affect your performance.

Benefits of Stretching

• Improves posture. Stretching the muscles of the lower back, shoulders and chest helps keep your back in better alignment and improves your posture.
   
• Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion. Stretching helps improve your range of motion, which may also slow the degeneration of your joints.
   
• May reduce your risk of injury. A muscle is less likely to become injured if you have to make a sudden move.
   
• Helps relieve post-exercise aches and pains. After a hard workout, stretching your muscles helps keep them loose and lessens the shortening and tightening effect.
   
• Helps reduce or manage stress. Well-stretched muscles hold less tension.
   
• Reduces muscular tension and enhances muscular relaxation. Chronically tense muscles tend to cut off their own circulation, resulting in a lack of oxygen and essential nutrients.
   
• Improves mechanical efficiency and overall functional performance. A flexible joint requires less energy to move through a wider range of motion, a flexible body improves overall performance by creating more energy-efficient movements.
   
• Promotes circulation. Stretching increases blood supply to your muscles and joints.
   
• Decreases the risk of low-back pain. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors and muscles attached to the pelvis relieves stress on the lumbar spine, which reduces your risk of low-back pain.