Muscle Stretching
Engagement in sports or sports activities leads to stretching of muscles and ligaments beyond limits. Tremendous muscle stretching damages the muscle or ligament. There are numerous good and beneficial stretches to lithe your muscles before the commencement of sports. Especially warm up and muscle stretching provides essential flexibility required for the extended movements during sports. The flexibility one gets from stretching will enrich the climbing performance.
The benefit of muscle stretching done before the sports are it improves circulation as well as blood flow and gives the muscles additional flexibility to progress without restraint. Similarly, muscle stretching performed during sports develops synchronization, balance, perfection, and makes the muscles less prone to injury. Muscle stretching exercises performed after sports helps in recovery time. Proper and adequate training have to be acquired to perform muscle stretching to avoid any dislocation or discomfort.
Muscle imbalances are mainly caused when muscle stretching exercises are more warmed up. Muscle imbalance makes one uncoordinated and contributes to injuries like pulled or strained muscles. Normally, our regular activities do not require the same extension and movements the way the muscles are engaged during sports. If the muscles are not stretched equally, they are said to be imbalanced.
Athletes carry out two types of muscle stretching namely; static and dynamic to enhance their performance. Static stretching helps in muscle stretching thereby increasing flexibility. Repeating the stretch for some time daily ensures easy movements. Similarly, dynamic muscle stretching is performed by slowly increasing the stretch distance and the speed of movement after each repetition. Quick movements are not advisable for both the stretching. Controlled and slow movement of arms or legs represents dynamic stretching.
Warming up before staring muscle stretching routines is essential. Muscle stretching exercises with lesser effort and strain must be performed regularly. At intervals one can do jogging, a few sit- ups and pull or push ups. These exercises prepare the muscles for stretching thereby increasing the blood flow.
Warming up exercises is done till one begins sweating. When the heart rate increases for about five minutes, one can start doing muscle stretching exercises. Skipping the warm up exercises or stretching forcefully results in a nerve reflex. This nerve reflex leads to contraction of muscles against the direction of muscle stretch. This may affect the performance of athletes. Breathing deeply during muscle stretching ensures relaxation and helps in controlling the stretch. A relaxed state of mind is beneficial while performing muscle stretching as it improves flexibility and prevents any sort of nerve stretch.