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You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. Stretching is an excellent thing you can do for your health. These simple, yet effective moves can help you limber up for sports, improve your balance and prevent falls, increase your flexibility, and even help relieve arthritis, back, and knee pain. Whether you're an armchair athlete or a sports enthusiast, this Special Health Report, Stretching: 35 exercises to improve flexibility and reduce pain , from the experts at Harvard Medical School will show you how to create effective stretching routines that meet your needs and ability.
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Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. A conversation about reducing the harms of social media. Factors that influence the ability to stretch the connective tissues in a muscle are as follows:. Viscoelasticity is the physical property of a substance that is both viscous and elastic. Elasticity in a rubber band is reflected by its ability to bounce back to its original length after it has been stretched or deformed.
Viscosity is the resistance measured in a substance to deformation by a stress and is a reflection of internal friction amongst its molecules. Muscles contain both of these properties which influence how long to stretch a muscle.
The more elastic elements of a muscle will behave like a rubber band. It will lengthen and then upon release return to its original length. This is not dependent on time. The flow of a viscous muscle however like cold motor oil, or honey is dependent on time. Therefore, the length of a muscle will increase with time if it is held stretched to a particular length. When this force is taken away, the muscle will return slowly to its original length. This physical property is different from the physical property of plasticity in which the new length would be maintained.
Patients are prescribed stretches to increase their range of motion in the short term or the long term. There is research to support the use of one fifteen to thirty second stretch per muscle group for most people, but some patients or particular muscle groups may need a longer duration of stretch or more than one repetition. The immediate effects of stretching are the result of a reduction in viscoelasticity and an analgesic effect tolerance to stretch. In rabbit tendons that were stretched for thirty seconds, increased range of motion was due to viscoelasticity until the fourth repetition.
In humans, hamstring muscles displayed decreased stiffness after five repetitions. It has been found that amongst other muscle groups in humans that range of motion increases did not depend on time when 15, 45, and second stretches were compared.
It is also true that stretching in some muscle groups are more limited by pain. Long term studies amongst humans show that a hamstring stretch lasting thirty seconds once a day resulted in the same change in flexibility as three stretches of thirty seconds duration.
This literature supports the general use of thirty second stretches for most groups of healthy individuals. This recommendation is like the recommended daily allowance for vitamin intake. It's a general guideline for a healthy population for how long to stretch. Muscle fatigue changes viscoelasticity, as do injuries, tears, scar tissue, and atrophy. So if you have any injuries you must seek professional advice as to how long to stretch a muscle.
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