14 Sep The Importance of Stretching
The importance of stretching impacts both your physical and mental well-being. One of the most common questions we get in the clinic is do we really need to stretch? In my opinion, stretching is just as important as strength training or cardiovascular workouts.
Stretching is important on a daily basis as it helps keep our muscles healthy and blood flow to circulate through it. The reason we need to do this is because the majority of us spend all day in positions that are not our ideal posture, causing our muscles to work harder and fatigue. If they are not being stretched out we then get the muscles forming trigger points/knots.
The benefits of stretching has physical and mental benefits.
Physical benefits are:
• To reduce muscle tension
• To increase Range of Motion
• To increase circulation of blood
• To increase energy levels
• To decrease your risk of injury
Mental benefits are:
Stress can cause the muscles to contract and become tight and then have a negative effect on you; stretching when stressed or when you are feeling a bit low on energy or depressed can have lots of benefits. Allowing you to have a break from the work you are doing as well as helping you relax and calm the mind down.
Overall stretching on a regular basis in my view is important because it can help reduce the risk of injury and maintain the health of your muscles and blood flow, and also give you the mental break you may need from the day-to-day running of life. So try and allocated a 10 to 15 min time slot a day to stretch. Your body will thank you for it!
