Dynamic Stretching for Optimal Health

Article by Jill Miller

Dynamic Stretching for Optimal Health – Health – Fitness

Search by Author, Title or Content

Article ContentAuthor NameArticle Title

Home
Submit Articles
Author Guidelines
Publisher Guidelines
Content Feeds
RSS Feeds
FAQ
Contact Us

Dynamic movement happens when the body keeps moving from one motion to the next without stopping. This type of action warms up the tissues of the body, improves circulation and prepares us for activity.

If you watch an animal when it wakes up, it progressively moves its body every which way, one motion tumbling into the next in a primal organic sequence. It also contracts its muscles while it is lengthening them to maximize the internal friction and hasten fluids back into the muscles, connective tissues and joints.

When we are still, we grow a kind of moss all over our musculature. This “inner moss” is fascia, an important connective tissue webbing that strings our body together. Sometimes this is helpful, for example in protecting a muscle that has been injured. However, fascia does not distinguish between an injured muscle and a “lazy” or underused muscle. It will just grow and continue to restrict movement unless it is regularly mobilized.

When we move our bodies fully, encouraging motion into every joint and muscle fiber in the body, we aid in loosening up adhesions that regularly grow between the sliding surfaces of muscles all over our body. When we dynamically stretch away our restrictions by breaking apart our tension areas, it’s like we’re performing physical therapy on ourselves!

The specialized fibers within our muscles that contract at a fast rate to maximize power and force need to be trained and turned on in order to make fast movements on the playing field or dance floor. Dynamic stretching has been proven to stimulate these responses within our muscles.

The opposite of dynamic stretching is static stretching. Static stretching implies that a body is at a still point and the muscles are held under consistent pressure for a duration of time. This is the ideal type of stretching after athletic output, as it calms the nervous system, resets and improves the resting length of muscles, and effectively rehydrates muscles and connective tissues so that you are less sore the next day.

If you play a sport with repetitive stress patterns, you should use static stretching afterwards to address these imbalances. For example, a golfer who is always twisting to one side can end up developing a patterned scoliosis in the spine if he or she doesn’t address the over-contracting on one side and the over-lengthening on the other, which is caused by the repeated abrupt rotations of their swing. This is also true for tennis players who tend to overuse their dominant side. Runners regularly suffer training imbalances from the repetition of their stride. Static stretching helps to reset their joints so that their stride actually improves for the next day’s run (after their dynamic stretches of course).

Incorporate dynamic stretching into your workout routine and enjoy optimal health and your favorite sports for years to come!

About the Author

Jill Miller is the creator of Yoga Tune Up