What is Stretch Therapy

What is Stretch Therapy

If you're looking around for the most effective stretching techniques to help with a range of back pain, scar tissue, joint mobility, injuries, & to lower stress on the nervous system/ body, stretch therapy is the key to unlocking these possibilities. Functional stretch therapy(fst) is unique in its approach as it assesses the body as a whole(fascia level) rather than one part, or a bunch of muscle groups. This is one of the reasons how fst therapists are able to ease people into their new postures, improving movement patterns, decrease pain, & improve overall health. By the name itself, tretch therapy is not just stretching someone on the table, it has plenty of factors that a stretch therapist has to factor in as you will learn as you read this page.

Stretching techniques

There are more than a few stretching techniques that a stretch therapist employs during a functional stretch therapy session, & this is all dependant on the clients' goal of the stretch therapy, body part, nervous system, activity, tissue health, or the needs, that will make each session different to help improve & reach the results. Some of these techniques include:

• PNF(proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation)
• CR(contract relax)
• CRAC(contract relax-antagonist contract)
• AC(agnist contract)
• MET(muscle energy technique/ medical exercise therapy)

Goals may include:

• Increasing of blood flow
• Improvements mobility of specific joints
• Pre-post activities
• Specific muscle group

Which will change the sequences & the way its done, even include manual therapy(massage), & movement re-training. Yes, it can get very confusing even for the different level of professionals who uses stretch as therapy, especially if they are not fully trained to offer all the benefits that functional stretch therapy(fst) has to offer you or your clients. This is because when people have pain, it's already layered with another compensation from other muscles working overtime, & thus the benefits are not seen if any, short term release(comes back after a day or two, & for those who are looking to improve either movements, strength training performance, or just overall health, the stretching technique that is used needs a range of muscle groups that is looked at as fascia.

Can stretching improve Performance?

Something to bear in mind is that stretching is something that may cause more injuries if done with a therapist that hasn't gone for training as a trained therapist for functional stretch therapy offer services which includes key assessments of the fascia system, joint mobility motion, flexibility, & alignment of bones. Movement that promotes motion help improve strength as the muscles are more elastic, & stretch therapy such as functional stretch service can be customised for such activity. If the goal is to lower the risks of injury, & improve power production, movement patterning, specific methods of neuromuscular stretch techniques can be used by a trained stretch therapist as they take at least 7-8 weeks of training to understand when & how to accurately apply the stretches for an effective long-lasting effect.
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Can stretching improve posture?

Stretching is something that not only benefits those in pain from the compensation of muscles, but especially those who are experiencing low back pain even with daily activities, which include simple movements such as opening a bottle, opening a jar, etc. These pain are usually a common denominator of poor mechanical alignment of the joints, causing some indirect muscles to take over a movement, which in some people causes pain doing certain motion. Stretches should be done daily, or into the current fitness routine, & always make sure that you're stretching the correct muscles. This allows for less compensation & better distribution of weight throughout the body just by frequent stretching.

Stretching Therapy

Functional Stretch therapy(fst) is done on a massage table or floor depending on the client they see to make modifications to avoid any form of discomfort(some discomfort from stretching is normal, but not pain). People of any age group that wants to have an improvement in flexibility(when's the last time you touch your toes), better/improved movement range in joints, fascia flexibility(elasticity) will benefit from stretch therapy such as Functional Stretch Therapy. Stretches that promotes fascia flexibility benefits your life by bringing in more hydration to your tissue to improve nutrient-rich blood flow to all parts of the body. To name a few stretch therapy available out that looks at the fascia & the body as a whole that you can consider is fascial stretch therapy(fst), & functional stretch therapy. They both help increase flexibility in people, improve range of motion
While youtube , or reading a book is a great way to start learning about stretch therapy, it's by no means that you would try & stretch people & their body which may not offer them any long term benefits(you may cause their condition to be worse), as there is no understanding of the human body, neurological aspects of muscle tightness, & what may be causing them.

Finally, Functional Stretch Therapy is not to be confused with massage therapy where therapists use mostly compressions, & are sometimes way too hard on the soft tissues which needs lighter touch to bring them into better health. Doing so may not release restrictions as some soft tissue requires the therapist to increase motion instead of using a compressive force to promote a neurologic release of the muscles(fascia) surrounding the joints. During a functional stretch therapy, your therapist may also prescribe you specific movement exercises to help either warm up your body prior to the stretch session. Start improving your life by doing a search for a stretching expert such as a functional stretch therapist giving your body the stretches it requires for better tissue health.

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