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Stretching your Injury

Stretching your Injury

I get this question asked more and more especially now, with modern sport, stretching has become a routine down to amateur level as there is a benefit with stretching and preventing injuries.

The question we have to ask is, is stretching good for your injury?

There is a Yes and a No to this question. It’s become an issue now where a lot of my patients believe they have to stretch an injury for it to heal but this is not always the case.

I let the body decide whether it needs stretching or not. This is done through the feeling of pain.

If you stretch and feel pain, STOP stretching.

(With acute injuries, I generally find even slight stretching is too painful so the area needs rest)

If you stretch and you get that nice pulling feeling, then stretch. The key here is to stop when you have achieved this pulling feeling. 
DO NOT push on through to get more of a stretch or until you feel pain

A stretch of a muscle is to move the muscle into a way that lengthens it. For anyone who is unsure of how to stretch a certain muscle, type it into youtube.

With any injury, take it easy to begin with. Be aware that you may not be as flexible as you would be normally as injured muscles usually are tight and shorten in length. Do not stretch too far!

In short, if you can stretch and it feels good, do so. This will speed up your recovery. 
If you stretch and you feel pain, STOP. Try to move the injured muscle in other ways which feel good if possible.

(Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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