STRETCHES

STRETCHES
JULIA JIMÉNEZ PHYSIOTHERAPIST
www.vidaterapia.es

Stretches are gentle exercises that will allow you to prepare your muscles for greater exertion and increase joint mobility. Stretching your muscles beyond their resting length provides health benefits. These exercises allow you to work all types of muscles without over-tiring them.

I present a sequence of stretches, ordered from simplest to most difficult, and which you can make more difficult with greater effort and dedication. Remember that when you begin stretching, you should never reach pain: stretch until you feel tension in the muscles and tendons, and hold that position for a while. Practice will allow you to extend the time you can hold the position, but it should never cause pain.

We can control the degree of stretching with:

the sensations we experience
the feeling of tension created at the muscle-tendon level, which we can palpate with our hand
If you're teaching this to children, always explain the exercise before doing it and use yourself as an example. This will help them understand it better.

It's always better to do a little and do it right than a lot and do it wrong. At first, it's better to do just one exercise and repeat it at different times of the day. When you've mastered that exercise, it's time to move on to the next.

The exercises should be repeated in sets of 10, holding the final position for a few seconds, which should increase with practice. Avoid bouncing, reach the end of the stretch and hold it without moving. To release the position, do it slowly.

How many times should you perform the sets? The more the better, but don't let it become a burden; be flexible. When doing this with children, try to turn it into a game, spread out throughout the day. They will give you the guidelines throughout.

Where will they be performed? Preferably on the floor: place a mat or blanket on the floor to keep them warm; never on soft surfaces, because difficult postures always result in compensations that prevent the muscles from stretching properly.

How will they be performed? Keep the limb to be stretched bare so you can control the muscles and tendons at all times.