Stretching and Benefits of our Assisted Stretch Treatments

You may think of stretching as something performed only by runners or gymnasts. But we all need to stretch in order to protect our mobility and independence. "A lot of people don't understand that stretching has to happen on a regular basis. It should be daily," says David Nolan, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Why stretching is important
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. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way. That puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.

For example, sitting in a chair all day results in tight hamstrings in the back of the thigh. That can make it harder to extend your leg or straighten your knee all the way, which inhibits walking. Likewise, when tight muscles are suddenly called on for a strenuous activity that stretches them, such as playing tennis, they may become damaged from suddenly being stretched. Injured muscles may not be strong enough to support the joints, which can lead to joint injury.

Regular stretching keeps muscles long, lean, and flexible, and this means that exertion "won't put too much force on the muscle itself," says Nolan. Healthy muscles also help a person with balance problems to avoid falls.

Stretching once today won't magically give you perfect flexibility. You'll need to do it over time and remain committed to the process. It may have taken you many months to get tight muscles, so you're not going to be perfectly flexible after one or two sessions.  It takes weeks to months to get flexible, and you'll have to continue working on it to maintain it.

Assisted stretching will enable an increased range of motion, allowing you to go further into stretches and control the pressure of the stretch. This type of stretching will also lead to increased mobility and flexibility, which we often see after 2-3 sessions at Bspokr.

We will ensure that the stretch is done correctly and that the limbs of the body are put into the right positions to ensure that you stretch the muscle parts you would like to stretch, providing you with a full body stretch. 

We are able to assist and isolate muscles to produce better results and have designed a program that ensures every session you will go further in your stretches, using PNF ( Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation  - Resistance Stretching ) and breathing.