Lore: Stretching, the more the better...right? Part I
Part I
Here’s another touchy one. This one is likely to piss a few people off as well. Look at me go! This is for informational usage to help challenge and change the mindset around hyper flexibility, in particular through static, assisted, and forced stretching routines. We choose to deviate from the norm. It’s what we do here.
I’m not picking on anyone, in particular, rather generally accepted fitness standards. We need to first understand and then use that knowledge to think critically as to the reasoning behind what we do and decide if it’s healthy.
Introduction
Stretching...oooooohhhhh stretching. It’s something every human does at some point whether we know why or not. Before I dive into the subject, let’s make it clear upfront that there are several forms of stretching, and depending on your particular goal, may have a benefit. It’s how we stretch when we stretch, and for what reason we stretch, that will be under scrutiny in this series. As our site is particularly focused on athleticism, and elite-level competitors, we’ll be especially hard on several as a means to enhance performance in sport.
Why do we stretch?
This may be surprising to most of you, but we don’t actually know why we stretch. I’m not referring to why YOU stretch recreationally either, but why we as animals get up and reach for the sky.
We’re all quick to assume, after being told our whole lives by others, that stretching is good for your health. That it’s good for helping you stave off injury, reduce muscle stiffness, help with circulation, reduce inflammation, and improve all of your athletic endeavors. As a species, we truly enjoy those miracle cure-alls that never seem to pan out. This one may be much the same. There’s really not a ton of evidence that backs it all up. I’m talking science-based research, not inferences from your coach or what you read from most online or physical print cookie-cutter fitness media.
We all, including myself, enjoy a good little stretch every now and then. The one thing you and I both know is that a well-timed stretch can feel wonderful! The current reasoning behind why is mainly theory. We might attribute it to a release of endorphins, it could be due to melting or breaking up sticky cobwebs of fascia between the sliding surfaces of the muscles, it could just be in our heads, or possibly something to do with priming our bodies to continue to move.
Whatever it is, we’re still looking into it. We, and other animals, usually stretch naturally with no external prompting, just after we wake up from a nap or after sitting or lying for long periods of time. That’s just about it. Anything outside of that is exclusive to humans and a fascinating study into our obsession with being limber beyond our character.
The "Fuzz"
Fascia surrounds every tissue in your body like cellophane. Imagine each muscle, for instance, wrapped in an individual bag. It not only keeps things together but provides necessary lubrication between your muscles and other tissue such as your skin, so they can move and slide effortlessly. Next time you cook some chicken, peel back the skin and observe the wet and sticky stuff between it and the meat - fascia (and some fat). There’s a LOT more to fascia than this, but for these purposes, this should suffice.
I refer to this next condition as cotton candy, some say “cobwebs”, one notable doctor, Gil Hedley, calls it “fuzz” (see video below). Whatever you choose to name it, it’s really just a buildup of fascia and overly viscous liquid (some research has shown can occur more often due to heightened sugar intake levels).
The reason I call it cotton candy is because, much like the delicious treat, when you add friction or water, it quickly disperses or melts away. I’m also an admitted sugar addict, as you will undoubtedly discern for yourself in time.
When you take a long rest or are relatively immobile for a time, that fascia becomes sticky and your muscles and areas of fascia aren’t coated well with lubrication. It’s somewhat easier to equate it to the crusty junk in the corners of your eyes sometimes after waking up. Your eyes produce mucus and tears to help protect themselves and keep them moving around smoothly. Every time we blink we are pushing out any leftover mucus and other crap like dust that is caught in your eye goo. Your eyes don’t stop making these tears and mucus though, and since your eyelids aren’t constantly blinking while you sleep, it stagnates at the edges where it leaks out.
This is somewhat similar to that fascia liquid buildup around your muscles. When your muscles aren’t moving, that buildup occurs and material needs to be cleared out and moved around to keep it fluid and evenly dispersed.
Rub a damp sponge over a dry surface. At first, there’s some traction, but after a swipe or two both surfaces are wet and the sponge glides. So when you, or your dog, do a big stretch after laying down for a while, it’s very likely you are manually stimulating your muscles in order to help clear out and lubricate that range of motion. I think of it as priming your system to start moving again. A systems check, perhaps.
Stiffness
I couldn’t tell you how many times one of my athletes has come up to me before, during, or after a workout asking me if I knew of a good stretch for a particular muscle because they felt really stiff or tight. While it may make logical sense to want to lengthen a tight muscle, it rarely ever does anything other than offer a very brief relief. Many times it is because the muscle is damaged or your body is guarding the area to let it heal or not get further damaged. More on this later.
Since stiffness is a medical “sensation”, it’s hard to really pinpoint the reasoning behind it. I’m sure you, much like myself, would reasonably assume that stiffness is an indication of a lack of flexibility, as that is what we’ve been taught. After all, you can take a stiff rubber band and after stretching it, it’s suddenly stretchy again. There are different mechanisms at play there, and the problem with that assumption, and that’s what it is, is that some of the most flexible people in the world still feel stiff at times.
I could point to potential magnesium deficiency as a source. Magnesium is the element responsible for over 300 processes in our body, but in particular, helps counteract calcium ions to help relax our muscles. Additionally, muscles actually get stiffer as we age. Dehydration and tight or poor fascia remodeling can also attribute to stiffness.
Endorphins
Some research has suggested a possible correlation between stretching and endorphin release. While possible, I’d like to point out that we can trick ourselves into feeling good about anything we think is beneficial for us. How many people continue to chomp down on kale when we all know kale is disgusting. Your brain is more powerful than most of us can imagine.
We also tend to do a good deal of stretching post-exercise, which certainly releases endorphins and other chemicals in the body depending on duration and intensity. At that point, you are fatigued and neuropeptides (dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, etc) are coursing along in your system. You are glad to be finished, you feel accomplished, and resting on the ground stretching can feel absolutely euphoric. Like rewarding yourself with that sleeve of Oreos when you get home :)
So while it is possible that stretching may trigger some endorphin release, that doesn’t correlate with an athletic benefit. It feels good, but so does watching videos of people organizing closets. That does us no good for our purposes here as athletes.
Inflammation and trigger points
Apparently stretching may have a benefit for reducing more systemic inflammation, and whether or not this is a good thing or if it’s true, is really up in the air for me. Also, how would this be any different than just using your muscles routinely? How would excessive stretching help? Movement alone is what prompts your lymphatic system into action.
Trigger points are an interesting one as well. We have no unanimity on what the eff they are, but we have a more generally accepted idea that they may be micro cramps in the muscle belly. That is, small groups of muscle fibers that are unable to release and remain contracted tightly. For this reason, stretching could be useful if done in a very particular way, but we don’t understand the mechanism behind their relief. My thoughts, if they are indeed micro cramps, we can cause a forced relaxation via autogenic inhibition. That’s how trigger point therapy works and you have probably been told to or had someone stick their finger on a “knot” and hold it there while you scream in pain.
The problem is that these are simply assumptions. In my experience, I have only been able to abate a few of these knots on my own through massage or stretching. I find they are awfully difficult to get at sometimes and they often go away with rest more than anything else. I’m certainly not alone in shrugging and contorting my face in confusion. At least this is a condition I can stand behind attempting to remedy with a light stretch, gentle massage, or some magnesium.
Animals stretch too!
It’s curious that animals only stretch in short bursts after rest as well. We, and a majority of animals, begin with a stretch and a yawn after slumbering. It’s called pandiculation
Pandiculation (Wikipedia)
A stretching and stiffening of the trunk and extremities, as when fatigued and drowsy or on waking, often accompanied by yawning.
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I personally feel this is almost like a system’s check after periods of rest. Our way of doing a quick inspection and testing if we are set to resume where we left off prior to “sleep mode”.
There is a place for warming up to prime your engine, so to speak, and get the metabolic processes moving a bit, but you need not do anything outside what you would normally perform. For this reason, the only thing you might see a lion do is to stand up, walk around a lot, and crouch and stalk its prey. That is sufficient enough to move the muscles through necessary ranges and prepare them to pounce.
As the great Woody Harrelson quips in the movie Zombieland, "You ever see a lion limber up before it takes down a gazelle? I don’t believe in it."
Scratch that itch
If you are doing it because it feels good, that’s fine. As mentioned previously, there’s something to be said about the way it makes us all feel, even if we have no clue as to its true biological purpose. Is it perhaps a psychological itch we like to scratch? Could be, but why would humans and other animals do it? Maybe it’s just therapeutic, and if so, there’s nothing wrong with a light stretch to wake your body up when you feel you need to.
Though, similar to using the restroom, there’s no need to try and force yourself to go when your body will let you know precisely when it feels you need to.
I’m not so sure stretching has any more use in curing our ailments than a handful of Oreos can cure my desire for more Oreos. In other words, they both make us feel good at the moment, but this could be largely psychosomatic. It’s a euphoric sensation that makes our brains say “Yassssss” but our bodies...our BODIES...might be telling us “No.”
I spent many years repairing electronics and tearing apart other various things to understand how they work. In the trade, you’ll commonly tell newbies that if you’re taking something apart or putting it back together, and it feels like there’s a lot of resistance, stop and rethink what you’re doing. If you keep going, you’re likely to break something and your body is no different from any other mechanism, except it has more parts.
Part II
In the second of three parts in this series on stretching, we will touch upon why one might see initial benefits and how prolonged or excessive stretching can affect the body physiologically. We will also look into how muscles work and sports specificity, starting with understanding what your goals are and the logic behind them when implementing a stretching routine. Keep an eye out for part two or be sure to subscribe for updates when articles drop or get early access to awesome new content!
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