Stretching looks to improve body function and flexibility. It relies upon a position or a posture that is held over time that then enables greater function and flexibility. Oft seen as desirable for those who are feeling stiff and even perhaps sore in their muscles.

Conversations involving stretching can be rather muscle centric, however there are other body tissues (parts) that are involved in stretching. Such as nerves and arteries.

When a nerve is stretched along the long axis, its function and flexibility can be improved. For those nerves that have an outer lining called a myelin sheath, the cells responsible for maintaining the insulative properties of the myelin sheath increase in workload and in number. So, stretching for your nerves means that you get more workers working more of the time to look after your nerve function. Just by stretching into a posture or position for an appropriate time.

Arteries can run adjacent to nerves and are a muscular organ and thus benefit from being stretched too. Some have said stretching is a new way to look after your heart (1).

Heavy lifting exercise is associated with arterial stiffness yet aerobic exercise and stretching are both associated with reduced arterial stiffness. Performing your regular exercises can cause changes in function within your body. Being stronger isn’t always healthier!

A recent meta-analysis (2) of stretching was able to show that resting heart rate, diastolic blood pressure (the lower figure in blood pressure) and endothelial cell function all improved with appropriate stretching in middle aged to older adults.

Lee’s hands on therapy is able to guide your body to stretch into the places it is trying to work around. Thus, making it hard for you to stretch through some structures (now we know stretching isn’t just muscles). By applying stretch and or loading in the places that your body doesn’t know it is missing can be a great complement to your regular exercise bouts that include cardiovascular and stretching routines.

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References:

1. https://www.clevelandheartlab.com/blog/a-new-way-to-help-your-heart-stretch/
2. Kato M et al 2020 The Efficacy of Stretching – Meta Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Int J Environ Research and Public Health 17 (16) 5643 doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165643