The Benefits
Although we often think of stretching as just improving our ability to touch our toes, research is demonstrating that stretching is far more than just elongating our muscles. There’s a whole raft of benefits to this essential health practice. Anecdotally, we have thousands of satisfied StretchFit stories and below you can read the science .
Research
As stretch advocates, we’ve always said that stretching is a discipline or modality in itself, with numerous health benefits. Never should it be relegated to a 5-minute bounce after the “real” exercise session. Geek out a bit below and find out what stretching can do for you.
Stretching IS exercise!
Stretching and muscle strength
Can you get jacked doing yoga? Maybe. New literature from the academic journal Frontiers in Physiology has demonstrated the potency of extended stretching protocols on muscle size, strength, and flexibility…
Is stretching better than walking for reducing blood pressure?
For anyone who has had to spend more time at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, news that simple stretching exercises can help reduce blood pressure may come as a pleasant surprise…
A New Way to Help Your Heart: Stretch!
It’s true. New research from the University of Milan in Italy showed that a 12-week stretching regimen improved blood flow, lowered blood pressure, and decreased the stiffness of arteries…
Stretching and muscle flexibility
One of the most frequent conditions for which people seek physiotherapy treatment is low back pain (LBP). When the aetiology of low back pain is whittled down to mechanical factors, pelvic tilting becomes apparent. The iliopsoas muscle is the key to relieving LBP in such circumstances, and since it is tightened, we concentrated on stretching it adequately in this study…
Stretching and pain management
Stretching is an intervention often used in various kinds of rehabilitation protocols and the effects on pain sensitivity has sparsely been investigated, especially when addressing potential effects on pain. The objective is to investigate the immediate effects of an axial and peripheral prolonged stretch on pressure pain sensitivity (PPT) and temporal summation (TS) on local and distal sites in healthy subjects…
Stretching and muscle stiffness
Low back pain (LBP) is frequently experienced by people who are in an activity flag, interfering with their daily jobs and activities. There are several causes of LBP that can be specific or non-specific; however, this study focuses on one of the specific causes, i.e., the link between LBP and iliopsoas tightness, as well as the most effective stretching technique for reducing the pain severity within a single session.
Stretching and running performance
Runners commonly perform a warm-up before an endurance exercise, as it is considered essential to achieve optimal performance. Stretching is frequently integrated into runners’ warm-up routines, but its effectiveness in improving physiological and metabolic responses, and endurance running performance parameters, is still debated...
Stretching and joint freedom
“We found the combined stretching, which acts like an exercise for the cell itself, with the gallic acid decreased inflammation markers, which means we were able to reverse osteoarthritis”…
Myofascial pain: relief by post-isometric relaxation
It’s true. New research from the University of Milan in Italy showed that a 12-week stretching regimen improved blood flow, lowered blood pressure, and decreased the stiffness of arteries…