Stretching has a lot of benefits. The most apparent is the rise in muscle flexibility, resulting in many other improvements. This article will explain the benefits of stretching and why you should stretch every day.
There are a lot of benefits of stretching regularly. Creating a stretching program can:
- Provide Greater Flexibility and Movement Range.
- Posture Improvement.
- Preventing Injury.
- DOMS Prevention.
- Improved Sports Performance.
- Stress Relief.
Greater Flexibility and Movement Range
This is the most apparent benefit of standard stretching and usually the basis why people start a stretching program. Nonetheless, the reasons for the stretching normally go much deeper than this.
Posture Improvement
In a lot of cases of poor posture that has developed over time, muscle imbalances are at fault. A good example are the chest muscles becoming shortened in people who slouch on a computer for long periods. Stretching these muscles can help enhance posture.
Preventing Injury
Being flexible can help in preventing injuries. This may include acute injuries, like a hamstring strain and overuse injuries such as plantar fasciitis or IT band syndrome. Stretching has been applied in the warm-up process for several years. It is believed that having flexible muscles can prevent serious injury by gently stretching the muscle through its range before a workout. Dynamic (active) stretches are now suggested for warm-ups, compared to traditional static stretching.
DOMS Prevention
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) happens 24-48 hours after workout. It is believed to be caused by microscopic tears in the muscle. Stretching before and after training aims to minimize this damage.
Improved Sports Performance
A lot of sports clearly require great flexibility, such as athletics and gymnastics. But even athletes in sports like Rugby, where flexibility is not immediately considered a key element, can enhance their performance by becoming more flexible. To have healthy muscles, they must be flexible. This will help prevent injuries as discussed above, but will also let you develop strength through the full range of motion in the joint. This gives an advantage to someone with limited scope.
Stress Relief
Muscle tightness is often linked with stress: we tend to tighten up when we are stressed. An example of these is the neck muscles were stretching relaxes these muscles and you at the same moment!
