too much stretching?
Hi Nancy,
for every joint, there is a need for both stability and mobility. When somebody has normal range of motion, yet continues to (literally) stretch the limits, particularly with passive stretches, this can destabilize a joint.
There are even some schools of thought that say that there is no need to stretch at all when you take joints through active ranges of motion during exercise.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
I personally don’t recommend stretching to my clients, but I leave up to them if they want to do some. I agree with Karin and as Susan said there is a of controversy around stretching with many schools of thought out there. I also believe that stretching is up to the individual and not “one size fits all” approach.
I think the question is a bit broad. Do you mean stretching too far, or stretching too often, or holding the stretches too long?
Broadly speaking I agreed with Karin here.
Aristotle talked about the golden mean“. for example self starvation is bad, as is gluttony. The same is true with the stability/mobility equation. Even in yoga, which a lot of people equate with ‘stretching’ the discipline is as concerned with strength and stability as it is with flexibility. There will always be those who are attracted to the extremes (what I call the Xtreme Goldfish phenomenon), but health and wellness generally rides between those extremes.
Thanks Adradne. I am concerned with clients who want to stretch out too often I.e. When the lumbar spine has been irritated and stretching is overused ( I suspect) to try and resolve the discomfort. My concern is that over stretching may further destabilize the lumbar and not add to the healing. Ie with use of ice or heat. As our clients do look to us for advice I want to suggest best practice that is both useful and safe.