3 Stretches You Should Skip—and 3 You Should Do Instead
Stretching can be a crucial part of keeping you mobile—but not all stretches are created equal. Some positions may be wasting your time, or even worse, doing you more harm than good. Dr. Aaron Horschig, DPT, of Squat University, shared what he believes are the three worst stretches you might be doing, and three you should replace them with.
They problematic stretches are:
1) The Sleeper Stretch
2) Weighted Thoracic Spine Mobilization
3) Aggressive Pec Stretching
1) The Sleeper Stretch
“This is often given by physical therapists, chiropractors, doctors, as a way to improve internal rotation of the shoulder,” Horschig says in the video. “Ideally you’re supposed to be feeling a light stretch int he back of the shoulder.”
Dr. Horschig says he often sees athletes rolling too far onto their shoulder while forcing their hand towards the ground, which can place excessive stress on certain tissues of the shoulder joint (posterior capsule).
Alternative Recommendation: The Cross-Body Stretch
“Take your arm, and you’re going to pull across your body,” says Dr. Horschig. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds, bringing your arm back in front of you to re-set. You can do this standing up or lying down in the same position as the Sleeper Stretch, which will “pin your shoulder blade down so it doesn’t stretch too far from your body.”
2) Weighted Thoracic Spine Mobilization
“A lot of people need to improve their thoracic extension. We sit at computers all day; we look at our phones. We’re very kyphotic in our upper back,” says Dr. Horschig. “We’re limited in how much motion we can extend that back. That’s gonna hurt our ability to press overhead any back squats, front squats, and keep our chest upright.”
This stretch uses a foam roller and a weight with arms overhead for more T-spine extension which can lead to an over extension from the lumbar spine.
“You may think you’re stretching your mid-back, but notice the position of my low back. I’m extremely arched. That is not efficient,” he says as he demonstrates.
What he recommends instead: Thoracic Spine Mobilization with Braced Core
Using the same foam roller, ditch the weight.
“Brace your core… I don’t want any movement from you low back. Hands up, and all we’re doing is arching just a little bit, sort of teeter-tottering over with that mid-back. We can roll up and go to another segment.”
Some alternatives: You can also cross your arms over your chest. And you can choose to use a peanut instead of a foam roller.
3) Pec Stretching with Shoulder Pressure
You’ve seen it, and maybe done it yourself. When you use some type of rig or wall to twist and stretch out your tight chest, you’re not doing yourself any favors.
“You’re often feeling this a ton in your shoulder joint, putting a lot of pressure on the front side (capsule) of your shoulder joint, and not efficiently stretching the pec,” says Dr. Horschig.
What he recommends instead: Tack and Stretch with a Lacrosse Ball
“Take a ball and pin it against a wall (or rig) and place it we want to place it right in that pec,” says Dr. Horschig. “Pin and move the arm up, flexing the arm up and down. It’s an active release stretch of that pec muscle.”
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