Have you any pain in your joints? Or perhaps stiff muscles and more? Stretch regularly and your pain will go away in no time. Check out our article to know all the health benefits of stretching!

How many of you go out for a walk regularly? Has a passion for sport? When was the last time you did stretches?

Due to the pandemic, we are stuck behind our desks for long hours. We are sure you all will agree that for the past few months what most of us just did was shift our positions from our couch to bed, and then back to our desks. 

Physicians, fitness enthusiasts, and other health experts highly suggest we should stretch at least twice a day.

Stretching is an important exercise that does not require any type of equipment. You should stretch daily to have a healthy lifestyle and a composed mind. In this article, we have discussed all the health benefits of stretching. Stay with us to know all about the powers of stretching.

Impact of Stretching on Your Physical Health

1.      Improvement in Your Posture

If you sit all day long, your muscles get stiffer as days pass that may ultimately hamper your posture in the long run. Your muscles from the upper and lower back, chest, and hips get tight if you do not stretch.

Jon Smith, a physiotherapist of Manchester Institute of Health & Performance stated that hamstring stretches, upper trapezius, and pectoralis stretches can help to improve body posture and make you look uptight.

2.      Reduce Back Pain

Who has never had back pain? Even if you are an active person you must have had back pain once or twice in your life. Back pains are not only caused due to sitting on your chair for long hours. Arthritis, stress, injured muscles, osteoporosis, inflammation, and many other conditions can cause back pain.

Even if your upper back is in top condition, your lower back can cause you pain. Hamstring exercises, leg stretches, and other subtle hip flexors if carried out routinely can reduce your back pain or prevent them from occurring.

3.      Helps Prevent Injuries

Stretching daily helps to keep your muscles flexible and strong. Your muscles might feel strained, and your joints might ache in your initial days, but if you stretch for a week you will soon realize you can bend your body better and feel much more relaxed. Your body will automatically be able to increase the range at which your muscles can stretch.

Stretching every day will also increase blood circulation, improve your metabolism, and thus make your body strong enough to withstand pain and prevent injuries such as a tear or strain.

4.      Improves Your Motion Range

Stretching helps to increase your range of motion which helps the synovial fluid to circulate all around the body and prevent dysfunction along with any deterioration in joints.

Static and dynamic stretching are two of the best forms of stretching to improve your range of motion.

5.      Provides You With Energy

If you are one of those who work from morning till late at night and do not manage to get enough time for yourself try some stretching.

After a day of hard work, we often feel tired to go out for a run or hit the gym.

Lethargy and tiredness make it even more difficult to concentrate on other important things in life. So for all of you who have faced this dilemma, we would suggest you stretch for at least 10 minutes daily.

Continue this for a few weeks and you will find yourself full of energy even after long days of hard work.

Daniela Suarez demonstrates a 7-minute workout you can do at home. If you are not familiar with these exercises start slowly and reach as far as you can. By this time you will find it easier to stretch further. Enjoy the video.

Effects of Stretching on Your Mental Health

1.      Helps To Build Optimism In People

You may think a stressed muscle, a displaced joint, or leg pains are complications that will go away sooner or later. However, did you know these contractions can also have a strong impact on your emotional state too?

Stretching helps to release chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins help to counteract the chemicals that build up due to a physiological complication you are experiencing. Endorphins help to alleviate your mood and enhance optimism in people who stretch regularly. They work by traveling through the blood to your brain and by binding to receptors, leading to the release of chemicals that improve your mood.  

2.      Enables People To Deal With Stress

After stretching once or twice each day for a week, you will be consumed with a rejuvenating feeling of satiety. As blood circulation occurs smoothly when you stretch, the waste products that have been building up in your body get slowed and removed from your system.

As your muscle tension loosens you will be able to relax better and have proper sleep. Many people who had back pains, joint problems, and other complications have trouble sleeping. In some cases, the lack of proper sound sleep can further give rise to other chronic illnesses.

Types of stretching

Starting from athletes to patients from patients in rehabilitation centers have to maintain a strict routine of stretching daily. Apart from freehand stretching, there are a few forms of stretching that you may not be accustomed to. 

There are three forms of muscle stretches. Pre-contraction stretches, Static and Dynamic stretching.  

Static stretching can be carried out either with the help of a partner or by yourself. It is the most common form of stretching that fitness trainers suggest normal people carry out. 

Dynamic stretching can be divided into further two groups: Active, where repeated limb movements are required through a full range of motion, and ballistic. During Ballistic stretching people need to bounce at end of range motion, which can result in fatal consequences if not handled by an expert.  

Pre-contraction stretching usually involves muscle contraction or muscle antagonist to be stretched beforehand. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching is the most common type of Pre-contraction stretching. It is mostly carried out by patients in clinics assisted by their physicians.

Bottom Line

Now that you have read this article, you should be aware of what is the health benefit of stretching. Start from today, make stretching a habit, and see how it helps to reshape your life.