Current research suggests that stretching can reduce that post-exercise tight, tender feeling called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). For decades many people thought this achy feeling was the result of lactic acid buildup in the tissues of your muscles. But it turns out they were wrong because lactic acid is a normal byproduct, resulting from the chemical reaction of muscle contraction during exercise.
So now cutting-edge thinking attributes this discomfort to tiny tears in muscle fibers caused by the requirements of unfamiliar training (also known as eccentric movements). By ensuring that your muscles are elastic and you have full range of motion in your joints, stretching protects you from sustaining the microscopic injuries caused by newly intense levels of exercise.
Stretching also decreases tension in your muscles and joints. Persistent muscle tightness can take a toll on your body by choking off blood flow to the muscles, which can result in raised blood pressure. This tightness can also decrease oxygen and nutrients in the muscle tissues, which in turn can cause the buildup of toxic waste products in the cells. The end result is persistent fatigue, as well as aches and pains in your tense muscles. What’s more, if a muscle stays partially contracted for an abnormally long time, the muscle can actually begin to shorten, which decreases range of motion and weakens the muscle, creating tightness and making the muscle less effective. A perpetually contracted muscle requires more energy to move than a relaxed muscle, so you wind up wasting energy with every movement.
So start a regular stretching program today to help reduce tension and tenderness in your muscles; the exercise can actually elevate the level of your overall health. Pretty amazing just from bending over and touching your toes!
So now cutting-edge thinking attributes this discomfort to tiny tears in muscle fibers caused by the requirements of unfamiliar training (also known as eccentric movements). By ensuring that your muscles are elastic and you have full range of motion in your joints, stretching protects you from sustaining the microscopic injuries caused by newly intense levels of exercise.
Stretching also decreases tension in your muscles and joints. Persistent muscle tightness can take a toll on your body by choking off blood flow to the muscles, which can result in raised blood pressure. This tightness can also decrease oxygen and nutrients in the muscle tissues, which in turn can cause the buildup of toxic waste products in the cells. The end result is persistent fatigue, as well as aches and pains in your tense muscles. What’s more, if a muscle stays partially contracted for an abnormally long time, the muscle can actually begin to shorten, which decreases range of motion and weakens the muscle, creating tightness and making the muscle less effective. A perpetually contracted muscle requires more energy to move than a relaxed muscle, so you wind up wasting energy with every movement.
So start a regular stretching program today to help reduce tension and tenderness in your muscles; the exercise can actually elevate the level of your overall health. Pretty amazing just from bending over and touching your toes!
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