Does Stretching Really Alleviate Muscle Tightness and Improve Flexibility?

Feelings of stiffness and tightness are poorly understood. What we think it is and what's actually going on behind the scenes are two different things. Likewise, methods of alleviating these feelings are equally misconstrued.

Tightness is your neurological system protecting you. It prevents us from overstretching a muscle to the point of tearing. It can also be present simply because we’re doing something we’re not used to, and our body has a minor freak-out.

For example, if I never reach my arm overhead, when I inevitably try to, your body puts its defences up and says, “Whoa, what’s this movement here? We haven’t done this before. What’s going on? FULL ALERT.”

Also, if we injure a tissue, our nervous system tightens everything around the area to protect it from further damage. Think of it as an involuntary self-defence mechanism. But like pain, feelings of tension are not 100% reliable in protecting us in the long term.

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Is tightness all in our heads?

Like an overprotective parent, tension can stop you from ultimately doing something good for yourself. People feel tight, so movement doesn't feel good, so they move less.

But if you get someone to hold a stretch or position for a good time, it will naturally become easier. A big part of this is showing your neurological system that this movement is, in fact, not a threat, and therefore doesn’t need to get so tight.

An interesting observation has been found in people under anesthesia. When put under, people's joint range of motion tends to increase compared to when they're conscious. In other words, their central nervous system is less active in generating tension.

Range of motion and feelings of tension can improve if we also simply relax. Taking a breath, leaving behind feelings of fear and expectation alone, can increase mobility.

Does stretching help with flexibility?

Yes and no. And it relates more to how people traditionally apply stretching and what actually creates long-term adaptation.

Think of the last time you stretched. Maybe you pulled your ankle to your butt while lengthening your quads and hip flexors. You held it for around a minute, and your quad tension was relieved. But what happened 30 minutes later?

I imagine your quad tightened up again.

It makes more sense to understand stretching less as lengthening a muscle permanently, but as something that increases a muscle's tolerance to stretch itself.

And like strength training, if you want the effects to be permanent, you have to progressively stretch (not just hold the same 30-second stretch every day). If we did the same 10lb bicep curl every day without changing a thing, we can't expect our biceps to get stronger. And stretching and mobility work the same way.

How to alleviate chronic tightness

If your feelings of tightness are preventing you from operating on a day-to-day basis, then clearly something needs to be done. A common culprit for these feelings is simply that you don't move enough. If you find yourself in the same posture for 8 hours a day, no amount of stretching is going to help your tension in these scenarios.

Find ways to break up sedentary periods. I like small methods like setting a posture timer every 30 minutes to prompt you to get up and move around.

As mentioned previously, the secret to long-lasting mobility is to progress your stretches. And the most efficient, bang-for-your-buck way to do this is to load your stretches. My favourite way to stretch is during my strength and lifting routine.

A squat completed to full range of motion is one of the best hip, knee, and ankle stretches out there. A dumbbell chest stretch done to maximum range is one of the best ways to open up the front of the shoulder and chest.

If you start thinking of traditional strength movements as hybrid strength/mobility training, your flexibility will improve significantly.

This also solves a problem that people get into when they're hyper-mobile. These folks have fantastic range of motion, but get hurt often because they don't have control, strength, or stability in these ranges.

If you're loading your stretches, you're training both your flexibility and your strength, killing two birds with one stone.

Ideally, it's something you're doing every day. And the cool part is that you don't need to spend hours doing it. 5-10 minutes per day of targeted stretching/lifting can make a big difference, in addition to simply moving throughout the day more.

To your good health, Coach Stephen

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