If you consult a physical therapist for a personal health and fitness program, it will essentially include exercise. A lot of people take on an exercise routine with the aim of improving their physical condition; although most of them fail to look at the flip side of the coin which is to avoid injury and to sustain a correct variety of movements. Because of this, when people strive to attain wellness, they often wind up getting injured at one time or two in their exercise.
The right person to give you the proper assistance in preparing a customized exercise routine is a physical therapist who can integrate the appropriate methods of stretching in order to prevent injury from occurring while at the same time keeping a good range of movement. While events back injuries, stretching also enables you to develop your range of movement. Stress is significantly reduced if stretching is used in flexibility workouts like yoga that consist breathing techniques. Even though you can ask a physical therapist to prepare for you a personalized regimen, you can also benefit from the following tips on proper stretching methods that are often employed in any personal health and fitness program.
Tips on Proper Stretching
Basically, you will be asked by a physical therapist to perform a 15-minute stretching a number of times per week. Stretching exercises will also be incorporated in your warm-up before the exercise proper and your cool-down post-exercise regimen.
Warm-up before anything else. You can get the most from stretching if you do a light warm-up such as a short walk or any other kind of activity that does not require too much force. You can expect greater result in your routine stretching if you warm-up first.
Exhale while stretching. If you’re on the first few stages of a stretching regimen, exhale while you stretch. Stay in this position in ten seconds. While holding the stretch, you should feel a mild tension on the particular muscle involved in the stretching and never to the extent of pain. You can extend holding the muscle tension up to one minute if you’ve already used the stretching regimen. Whether you are already experienced in stretching or just beginning to get the grip, you should not forget to breathe even while stretching and while holding the tension.
Inhale in a relaxed position. After you’re done keeping the stretch, you should inhale as you reassume a relaxed pose. Do not forget to avoid holding your breath because it can result in hypertension due to muscle contracting.
Be extra careful with back stretches. While performing back stretching, make sure that your lower back remains flat. The abdominal muscles must only be used when trying to get to a new position. Any back injury can be prevented if you try to use only the required muscles to adjust to your position.
Bounce only when necessary. Using the methods described above, stretching must be done slowly while trying to avoid bouncing. You are likely to get injured if you rush your stretching exercise by bouncing.
Remember the healthy side. If one part of your body is injured, you also have to stretch the side that is not injured in the same way you apply with the injured part. A lot of people concentrate only on the part with injury and forget the healthy side.
Consult a physical therapist. The advice of a physical therapist on the proper techniques in stretching is really useful. Although you have an experience in stretching, you can still take some tips from a physical therapist who can share with you the new methods in stretching.
While it is a vital element of your exercise routine, stretching is usually disregarded by most people. If you’re planning a health and fitness regimen that suits your current condition, create a stretching exercise routine with the recommendations of your physical therapist.