4.12.3 - Overstretching
Description
This article is from the Stretching FAQ, by Brad Appleton Brad_Appleton@ivhs.mot.com with numerous contributions by others.
4.12.3 - Overstretching
If you stretch properly, you should *not* be sore the day after you have
stretched. If you are, then it may be an indication that you are
overstretching and that you need to go easier on your muscles by reducing
the intensity of some (or all) of the stretches you perform.
Overstretching will simply increase the time it takes for you to gain
greater flexibility. This is because it takes time for the damaged muscles
to repair themselves, and to offer you the same flexibility as before they
were injured.
One of the easiest ways to "overstretch" is to stretch "cold" (without any
warm-up). A "maximal cold stretch" is not necessarily a desirable thing.
Just because a muscle can be moved to its limit without warming up doesn't
mean it is ready for the strain that a workout will place on it.
Obviously, during a stretch (even when you stretch properly) you are going
to feel some amount of discomfort. The difficulty is being able to discern
when it is too much. In her book, `Stretch and Strengthen', Judy Alter
describes what she calls "ouch! pain": If you feel like saying "ouch!" (or
perhaps something even more explicit) then you should ease up immediately
and discontinue the stretch. You should definitely feel the tension in your
muscle, and perhaps even light, gradual "pins and needles", but if it
becomes sudden, sharp, or uncomfortable, then you are overdoing it and are
probably tearing some muscle tissue (or worse). In some cases, you may
follow all of these guidelines when you stretch, feeling that you are not
in any "real" pain, but still be sore the next day. If this is the case,
then you will need to become accustomed to stretching with less discomfort
(you might be one of those "stretching masochists" that take great pleasure
in the pain that comes from stretching).
Quite frequently, the progression of sensations you feel as you reach the
extreme ranges of a stretch are: localized warmth of the stretched muscles,
followed by a burning (or spasm-like) sensation, followed by sharp pain (or
"ouch!" pain). The localized warming will usually occur at the origin, or
point of insertion, of the stretched muscles. When you begin to feel this,
it is your first clue that you may need to "back off" and reduce the
intensity of the stretch. If you ignore (or do not feel) the warming
sensation, and you proceed to the point where you feel a definite burning
sensation in the stretched muscles, then you should ease up immediately and
discontinue the stretch! You may not be sore yet, but you probably will be
the following day. If your stretch gets to the point where you feel sharp
pain, it is quite likely that the stretch has already resulted in tissue
damage which may cause immediate pain and soreness that persists for
several days.
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