Photo: The author all stretched out between a rock and a hard place 3000 feet above the floor of Yosemite valley. Lost Arrow Spire, Yosemite, CA. May 2001. Credit Paul Gardner.
The pain between my left shoulder blade and spine comes and goes. The last several weeks it is back with vengeance. I press on the spot, massage it, put a heating pad on it and take ibuprofen. I stretch my shoulder and back constantly, but the more I do, the more it hurts. What am I doing wrong?
This week’s article is about stretching muscles. This is a controversial subject. I am not a medical doctor or physical therapist. What I have learned about stretching is based on research and experience as a personal trainer and lifelong athlete. I will start with a brief overview of the physiology of muscle stretching; cover the types of stretching I use myself and for my clients. Then I will give my thoughts on the good, bad and ugly aspects of stretching.
The Physiology of Stretching
Your bones provide structural support for the body and your muscle provide the ability to move. Bones are connected at your joints by ligaments. Muscle are attached to bones by tendons and are unique in their ability to make your body move. Muscles are composed of bundles of muscle fibers which can contract, relax, and elongate. The fibers are made up of millions of bands of sarcomeres. When an electrical signal transmits from the nerves to the muscle, it causes the sarcomeres to shorten. When billions of sarcomeres shorten at once the entire muscle fiber contracts.
When you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere. Stretching helps to realign any disorganized muscle fiber in the direction of the tension. This realignment is what helps rehabilitate scarred tissue (through injury or surgery) back to health. The more muscle fibers stretched, the greater the length developed by the stretched muscle.
The brain monitors stretching through proprioceptors in the muscle called muscle spindles and in the tendons called the Golgi tendon organs. The basic function of these proprioceptors is to resist muscle lengthening to prevent injury. When you hold a stretch for a prolonged period of time (in my experience 20 to 30 seconds), the muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organ habituate to the tension and signal the brain that it is okay to let the muscles lengthen.
Once the muscle has reached its maximum length, continued stretching puts tension on the joint capsule, ligaments and tendons. These connective tissues are not intended to lengthen and stretch.
Types of Stretching
In my practice, I use three types of stretching: dynamic, passive, and isometric. Dynamic stretching uses controlled movements to take you GENTLY to the limits of your range of motion. An example of dynamic stretching is doing arm circle and gradually increasing the diameter of your circles to the limit of your range of motion. Passive stretching is assuming a position with the aid of a partner, apparatus, or your own body to apply GENTAL pressure to stretch a muscle group. An example is putting your leg up on a table and bending over to gently stretch your hamstring. Isometric stretching involves tensing the muscle you are stretching. I use isometric stretching for my shoulders when I pull my arm across my chest at the same time I contract the stretched muscle. This stretches and strengthens the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint.
The Good
Dynamic stretching is a great way to warm up for a strength workout, a competition, or day of hiking on or off trail. You are stretching muscles gradually to their limit, but you are also warming your core temperature and activating muscle groups. Research suggests that dynamic stretching has no negative impact on performance. In addition, to arm circles, I do twists to loosen my lower back and oblique muscles. Walking lunges and toe touches work the quads and hamstrings. Sumo squats stretch and activate the adductors and glutes. I generally spend 5 to 10 minutes with my clients doing dynamic stretching prior to strength training.
I have written about muscle imbalances caused by injury and/or surgery. Read my article: Balancing Act: Common Overuse Injuries and Muscle Imbalance. I find static stretching beneficial for myself and my clients. Not only can you relieve tension in an over active muscle group, but static stretching is also effective for realigning scar tissue. If you have muscle imbalance issues or you are recovering from injury, it is imperative you combine stretching with knowledgeable strength training.
I use isometric stretching to target problem muscle pain (like my shoulder blade). I know my pain is related to old injuries of my bicep tendon. By tensing the muscles around my shoulder, I do my best not to stretch the worn tendon when stretching my trapezius and rhomboid muscles around my shoulder blade.
Both static and dynamic stretching appear equally effective at improving range of motion over the short and long term. Yoga and Tai Chi are activities that do a great job combining dynamic and isometric stretching to strengthen and relieve tension.
I think many athletes, including myself, use static stretching as a ritual to relax and focus. Before a rock or ice climbing pitch, I will always spend some time stretching to relax and focus. The important thing to remember is not to use this stretching to elongate your muscles, but rather as a tool to relax and sharpen your focus.
The Bad
Over the years, research has shown that a muscle’s function diminishes after it’s stretched. Stretching a muscle can make it longer, but this results in a loss of power. In addition, there is no clinical evidence to support stretching helps prevent injuries. On the contrary, research suggests injuries are more prevalent in athletes who are regular static stretchers.
The Ugly
If you constantly overstretch muscles, you may put stress on the soft tissue surrounding the joint. Those tissues can become too loose compromising the integrity of the associated joint. This can put more stress on the joint increasing the risk of injury in ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues.
Stretching a sore muscle can aggravate damaged muscle tissue and prolong the recovery period. This is what is happening with my shoulder blade pain.
Afterword
By stretching, poking and prodding my upper back and shoulder, I was doing more harm by increasing the tension on damaged muscles. Elongating and weakening the muscle caused more inflammation and pain. Time to act. See my article: Pain: The Body’s Call to Action
I created a therapeutic protocol. I used resistance exercises to strengthening the muscle in my upper back and around my shoulder. I used isometric stretching to activate and tighten elongated muscles. I paid attention to maintaining good posture to prevent stretching overstretched muscles. It takes time. Muscle don’t repair themselves overnight. Soft tissue injuries take even longer. It took a week to see some improvement. A month later and the pain was gone.
If you have any questions please contact me at mailto:steve.crookedthumb@gmail.com Thanks for reading!
Leave a Reply