The Depth of Stretching - Taking a dive into the muscle

Welcome again! Stretching as I thought before was…you know, stretching. Until a couple weeks ago, I had no idea that stretching had different kinds of meanings to it. Today, we’ll dive into what happens when a muscle is stretched (go check out my previous article about stress curves if you haven’t to learn more about what happens when the muscle gets overused without proper warm-ups/cooldowns).

So, what exactly happens when a muscle is stretched? When you start stretching (like joining my Mobility Program if you’d like), sooo many things change in your body. Different kinds of tissues are adapting to your body when you are stretching. In this situation, your muscles are lengthening. This process begins at the sarcomere (within the muscle). When a specific muscle is being lengthened, the myofilaments (thick + thin) begin to lessen. 

Myofilaments are “one of the thread-like structures made of the proteins actin or myolin that make up a myofibril = a structure inside a muscle cell” (Cambridge Dictionary). 

Once all the sarcomeres are stretched by this, “the muscle fiber is at its maximum resting length” (Walker). 

When this is continually done, this will help elongate connective tissues and muscle fascia. A quote from Williams and G. Goldspink summed up that sarcomeres will get bigger and new ones will add to the end of myofibrils. Your amount of mobility will increase!

Stretching Types

Here, we'll briefly go through what every type of stretching is, and I will make some content related to it later (keep a look out)!

Static Stretching - In this you are basically stretching without moving and holding it for a specific amount of time. You are still stretching out your muscles and feeling the tension in the muscle.

Passive (or Assisted) Stretching - This is literally static stretching but another person stretches for you…how dumb. Although it’s not you doing it on your own, it is a little more dangerous. According to The Anatomy of Stretching, the author describes picking a partner wisely.

Active Stretching - This is stretching with no Passive Stretching/or external force. This applies the opposing muscles to the targeted muscle groups. This is an antagonist/agonist relationship.

PNF Stretching - This is more complicated. This is basically targeting stretching and contracting the muscle. This is good for rehabilitation, such as sports. It also targets good muscle groups, improving strength and the stretch.

Isometric Stretching - This is assisted stretching similar to PNF stretching, but is held longer. Some recommendations say to wait for a least 48 hours before you attempt to do another one (which I think is crazy).

Dynamic Stretching - This stretching falls into subcategories, but we’ll just submerge everything into one clear definition. This is basically stretching with movement. To be swinging, bouncing, you get the point. 

Active Isolated Stretching - This stretching is more new, but you are basically “contracting the antagonists, or opposing muscle group, which forces the stretched muscle group to relax” (Walker). There is a simple procedure:

" 1. Choose the muscle group to be stretched and then assume the appropriate starting position.

2. Actively contract the antagonists, or the opposing muscle group

3. Move into the stretch quickly and smoothly.

4. Hold for 1-2 seconds and then release the stretch

5. Repeat 5-10 times " (Walker).

Resistance Stretching and Loaded Stretching - These kinds of stretching are dynamic stretching that contract and lengthen at the same time. A muscle group is being stretched under a tough condition while you are using your muscles for contraction (strengthening). This is more about activating a particular muscle group rather than stretching it.

That’s all for today! Thanks to all for reading!