Are you suffering from chronic pain, achy joints, and sore muscles? Then, you need to read this article to learn how to alleviate these nagging pains with an accommodating type of stretching!
The benefits of assisted stretching are proven to help alleviate tight muscles and stiff joints by improving circulation. But, that’s not all. Assisted stretching boasts quite a few more benefits that you should not pass up, especially if you’re an athlete or suffering from chronic pain issues.
We’ll cover these benefits in great detail throughout this blog post. So, if you’re interested in learning more about assisted stretching and what it can do for you, continue reading below.
What is Assisted Stretching?
As the name suggests, this is a type of stretching that utilizes assistance - sometimes another person. Or, sometimes, tools and modalities. Either way, the outcome is that you’re able to incorporate stretching that you could otherwise not do alone.
Using this form of stretching can help manipulate your body into deeper stretches and more varieties of movement that may have been limited or difficult to accomplish on your own. As you can imagine, this contributes to substantial benefits…but what exactly can you expect from making this type of stretching a part of your regimen? We’ll explain below.
What are the Benefits of Assisted Stretching?
So, what are the benefits of assisted stretching? From enhancing mobility to prevent injury and targeting muscle tightness to reduce pain, assisted stretching boasts outstanding benefits. Find out more about these obtainable benefits below!!
Enhances Mobility
Strengthening the body throughout different ranges of motion is a vital factor in injury prevention. Assisted stretching simplifies stretching through a more extensive range of movements. This helps eliminate restrictions that would be faced from stretching on your own, as holding, bending, and extending through deep stretching can be difficult.
Assisted stretching is excellent for enhancing mobility as a safe and surefire method of focusing on the well-being of the joints and muscles. Muscular imbalances or weak muscles raise the risk of injury. With the help of assisted stretching, mobility is increased - and thus you can drastically reduce that risk.
Improves Athletic Performance
Improving athletic performance is a highly sought-after goal for athletes. And this is much easier when you’re more mobile! Not only can assisted stretching better aid in reducing soreness and risk of injury, but it can also boost energy, improve sleep, strengthen the core, and target poor posture. All of these factors are crucial for enhanced athletic performance - regardless of sport.
Progresses Flexibility
Though the two tie together, flexibility and mobility are not the same, but both are incredibly beneficial for physical health. Mobility is the capacity and strength needed to carry out movements freely. Flexibility is the ability to perform different ranges of motion without pain.
Assisted stretching is an excellent tool for pain-free movement to reduce the risk of injury. This is because assisted stretching challenges the body to move smoothly without pain. In addition, by improving flexibility, the joints are strengthened in lengthier ranges of motion, which helps to decrease the risk of injury.
Decreases Stress
Stress can result in stiff muscles, causing discomfort and pain. That is because stress is closely tied to muscle tension. If the tension is not released, the muscles remain tight. However, through assisted stretching, the muscles release tension and stress buildup, encouraging calm and an improvement in overall well-being.
Targets Muscle Tightness
Various factors can cause muscle tightness, including a sedentary lifestyle, stress, and overexercising.
Assisted stretching targets muscle tightness by releasing tension in the muscle through safe stretching maneuvers. If the muscles remain tight, it can cause further pain and discomfort, restricting movement and increasing the risk of injury.
Speeds Up The Recovery Process
When there is a lack of blood flow or circulation of vital nutrients to the muscles and joints, soreness and pain can result post-exercise.
To combat these issues and speed up the recovery process, assisted stretching loosens up the muscles and joints to improve circulation. A steady flow of circulation provides vital nutrients to the muscles. This, in turn, helps the muscles heal faster. On the other hand, minimal circulation caused by tight muscles and joints prevents these nutrients from reaching the muscles, which causes a slower recovery process.
Who Should Look Into Assisted Stretching?
We’ve gone over the outstanding advantages of using assisted stretching, but who would benefit from it? If you’re curious about trying assisted stretching, continue reading!
Athletes Who Want to Increase Performance
The search for lifestyle adjustments and methods to improve athletic performance is ongoing for athletes. And assisted stretching is a safe, healthy, obtainable technique that can do just that!
Movements through your respective sport or activity will come more naturally and effortlessly. Recovery post-workout or game will be quicker. The risk of injury will be heavily reduced. If you take your sport seriously and want to perform better (or keep playing injury-free), consider assisted stretching.
People Suffering from Chronic Pain
For people suffering from chronic pain, assisted stretching can be a proactive tool to relieve discomfort temporarily. For some, it can even replace prescription medications after doctor approval, thanks to its efficiency in relieving pain.
Inactive Individuals
For individuals who live an inactive or sedentary lifestyle, like sitting at a desk all day, assisted stretching can be incredibly beneficial. Muscular imbalances, injury, stiffness, and soreness in the joints and muscles can result from a lifestyle absent of movement or activity. Assisted stretching releases tension in these tight muscles and joints, relieving stress and pain.
How Can You Reap the Benefits of Assisted Stretching Yourself?
Now that you know what assisted stretching is and what it does, you may wonder how you can get started reaping the benefits as soon as possible. There are a few options to consider - either get professional treatment or take matters into your own hands.
Get Professional Treatment from a Provider Near You
Receiving professional treatment from a provider near you can be a significant step to achieving the benefits of assisted stretching. A skilled practitioner can help cater your sessions towards your needs and set up a healthy routine.
Assisted stretching sessions can be found at most chiropractors, physical therapists, or massage therapists' offices. However, it is essential to note that the major drawback of receiving assisted stretching at these locations is that it can be very costly, especially if multiple sessions are needed each week, and frequently attending appointments each week can be a hassle.
Invest in Your Own Assisted Stretching Equipment
A more affordable and convenient option to consider is buying flexibility equipment. This easy-to-use assisted stretching tool makes it easy to stretch whenever and however you want in the comfort of your home or on the go.
CastleFlexx’s flexibility equipment offers full body stretching capabilities, so you can incorporate active and passive stretching to cater to your needs. Whether you’re targeting issues like chronic pain, shoulder impingement, or plantar fasciitis, investing in this assisted stretching tool will be a complete game-changer in physical health and performance.
Establish A Consistent Routine
A consistent routine should be established to see results and benefit from assisted stretching. It is recommended to incorporate stretching at least twice a week. If you are an active individual, this may increase to recuperate the body and speed up recovery between training sessions.
Incorporate Effective Movements
To receive the best benefits of assisted stretching, you must cater your stretching routine to your goals. For example, if you suffer from tight hip flexors, you wouldn’t focus your sessions on your upper body. Instead, to target those tight hip flexors, you would need to incorporate stretches that engage the hip flexors and lower back muscles, which are connected to the hip flexors.
Hold The The Stretch
Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) is a frequently used technique in assisted stretching. It passively stretches the muscle to encourage flexibility and range of motion improvements.
Using a wrist stretch as an example, the wrist would be stretched to its normal range of pain-free motion. Pause for 8-10 seconds. Then, the wrist would be stretched a little further and held there for 10-15 seconds before returning to the starting point. This would repeat 3-5 times before moving on to the next stretching exercise.
Drink Plenty Of Water
If muscles are dehydrated, stretching can prove to be more difficult than it needs to be. This is because muscles need water to flex and contract properly. Ensure to drink plenty of water daily so your muscles can be effectively stretched and reap the benefits of assisted stretching!
Get A Good Night’s Rest
Though assisted stretching can be productive in improving recovery, without a good night's rest, your body won’t be able to recover fully. Sleep plays a vital role in recovery. Getting a good night's rest will help your muscles and joints heal. This is necessary for you to reap the benefits of assisted stretching so your muscles can obtain improvements in mobility and flexibility.
Ready to Experience a More Mobile, Pain-Free Lifestyle?
The best way to relieve chronic pain, enhance athletic performance, and reduce the risk of injury is by taking the time to incorporate assisted stretching into your weekly routine.
Unfortunately, heading to your local massage therapist or chiropractor can be costly, especially if you require more than one session per week. With CastleFlexx’s equipment, the benefits of assisted stretching can be achieved in the comfort of your home at an affordable cost.
Customize your stretching routine to your goals with ease whenever or wherever, with CastleFlexx’s easy to use assisted stretching tool!