Stretching - when to consider its making your problem worse.

The assumption that you have to stretch and release a muscle that feels tight and sore to fix your problem can be the exact opposite to what you have to do. Muscles can feel tight for 2 reasons:

1)      The muscle is chronically contracted or ‘shortened’

2)      The muscle is chronically overstretched or ‘lengthened’

In both scenarios, the pain and restricted movement can feel the same. In scenario 2 though, movement is restricted because the muscle, and quite possibly also the joint and other associated soft tissues (tendons, ligaments, fascia, cartilage, discs and joint capsules) are already at their limits of range and have no more to give. Pushing further into this is futile.

Here are a couple of very common examples.

1)      Lower neck pain (upper trapezius). Often the upper trapezius is overstretched and overworked due to forward head posture, rounding of the upper back along with shoulders that are depressed and rolled forwards.

Solution – correct the postural problem by improving head, shoulder and back posture. This will require you to ‘shorten’ the resting position your upper traps

2)      Iliotibial band friction syndrome. The iliotibial band will often become overstretched when the function and/or stability of the leg is compromised, rubbing on the lateral knee causing pain. The iliotibial band is the body’s last resort to control the unwanted movement of an inwardly collapsing leg as the foot hits the ground.

Solution – improve hip and foot biomechanics. Improved strength and control here will de-load the iliotibial band and allow it to relax into a ‘shortened’ resting state taking the pressure off the outside knee.

In both scenarios, stretching may form part of your program, but this will involve stretching muscles and tissues that actually work counter to the problematic ‘overstretched’ ones.

So, if you are having trouble with muscular aches and pains that have not responded to stretching and soft tissue work maybe it’s the opposite you need to be doing? Best place to start is with a thorough chiropractic exam so you can be sure you are working on the right body parts in the right way.