says
ok, I will go back and make sure you have access.
Be...
Well-Known Member
This is a good post. This is the flaw with posting fast while riding a train to your next job.
What you don't want to stretch is the inflamed tendon. This is also why I noted that suds post about stretching the gastrocnemius for it, that might be good. From the internet, it is hard to say, but it could be good. If you can stretch the hamstring muscles without involving the tendons that cross the knee, that could actually also be okay. It is hard to say without the person there.
And a very good part of why I said that Baal gave the most important information is that, the internet, with someone who is not there with you, and not able to have real, tools for diagnosis, would not be a good place to get advice for an injury.
So, I agree with all you said in the post. I didn't include you entire post in my quote simply for brevity.
BTW: on Sunday I was working with a woman who has a set of exercises from a Dr and a Physical Therapist. I was having her do the exercises and watching how she was doing them. When I saw one of them, I asked how her neck and knee felt. Now, the stretch was for her hip. But she was loading stress in her neck and knee while doing the stretch. I changed a few things, asked how it felt. She said it felt loads better. And she had been wondering why her neck and her knees had been bothering her.
In the physical therapy sessions she is doing, they have her set up so the neck won't be an issue. But the PT is also working with 10 people at a time and gives the next exercise and then goes to the next person while she is doing it and comes back to her when he has help the other 9. So, he sets her up to do the exercise but is not watching if her mechanics are okay. Now I understand that is the system. And they had her mostly safe. But by me watching, and being there, and not going to someone else, I was able to see what she was not understanding about the exercise and how to get her to know how to do it in a way that was better for her. Even with PT because of how the medical system works, sometimes certain things go wrong. Not always. But it is possible for that to happen.
I also cannot tell you how many times I have seen a client who had a Dr give them sheets with exercises and did not watch them do the exercises or see if they were doing them well or safely and then saw the client doing those exercises and thought "Oh my goodness, please, no, don't do it that way."
here is what some of the recent science shows. Stretching has relatively little effect on the muscle. It doesn't change it's length or its mechanical properties (stiffness). It also doesn't do anything good for the tendon either (like make it longer or more flexible). In the immediate aftermath of static stretching, contractions that are mainly driven by type IIa and IIx (fast twitch) fibers are reduced.
It is not known exactly what stretching actually does but two new theories are out there. (1) it feels good, sort of like scratching an itch on the inside. Probably we all experience this part of it. That is the reason why I sometimes stretch. (2) it shows your nervous system what your actual range of motion can be, so it allows somewhat greater tensions to occur. In other words, according to this point of view, a lot of what stretching does is neurological. What it doesn't do is protect you from sports injuries.
The "stretching industry" has managed to brainwash a surprising amount of the planet into believing that you have to stretch before or after exercise or you will end up broke and in a wheelchair, and after you die you will be flung into the depths of hell for eternity.
I like to ride my road bike and I get this magazine from USA Cycling called Bicycling. Evey week they have articles from various self-proclaimed fitness experts making extravagant claims about stretching and diet that are completely unsubstantiated and sometimes contradicted by available literature in sports medicine and exercise science. The Super Abdominal Crunches And Calf Stretches You Absolutely HAVE To Do to Improve Your Hill Climbs. or... How to Get the Most Out Of Avocado Smoothies to Make Your Ass Feel Better in the Saddle. Stuff kind of like that. Every week. (The authors are usually quite young and pretty hot looking, but also seem to have no real understanding of aging athletes).
It kind of sucks that USATT is broke but at least we are spared from that.
