Most people will experience pain at some point in their life. 83 million days of work are lost due to back pain. And nearly 65 million Americans have reported a recent episode of back pain.
To be honest, most of our patients have tried traditional methods to help with their back pain.
Can approaches like resting, stretching, painkillers, and talking to your primary care physician help with back pain?
Yes, but....
It doesn't guarantee that the pain isn't going to return.
A majority of the time, the pain does return. Instead of getting pain free, the pain becomes manageable, which results in a whole host of newer problems down the line. It's like kicking the can down the road, you'll have to deal with it eventually.
I can imagine that stretching gives a satisfying pull that makes you think you're doing the right thing. It can definitely relieve tension, but it won't get rid of your pain.
Traditional methods like pain killers, resting, heat and stretching will reduce your pain. But it won't fix the root cause of problem.
Benefits of Stretching
Stretching is definitely beneficial. You can gain ranges of motion at a specific joint by lengthening certain muscle groups.
This has the potential to reduce the risk of injury during sports and provide some pain relief... but the effect are short lived...
Post-isometric relaxation is a method of stretching that we use at the office to increase a joints range of motion!
But while this stretching is helpful, it still won't fix the root cause of your problem and make the pain stay away.
Why It Might Not Work For You
Muscle tension comes from postural adaptations. If we go into these positions enough (or use these muscles a lot), the muscles will become tighter/shorter...
If you stretch these tighter/shorter muscles you might increase the length and feel better... But your body will still end up in that old position, especially if you use the muscle a lot.
So the problem will eventually come back.
Here's problem.
Muscle overuse → Muscle tightness → Stretch → Relief and improved range of motion → Muscle overuse → Muscle tightness comes back!!
If you've tried stretching, you know that one stretch won't fix your pain... You'll often find yourself doing the stretch every day just to have the pain come back in the morning.
How would you feel if I told you there is a quicker and more effective way to get pain free rather than focus on stretching?
At Capital Sports Medicine, we can do exactly that!
The Capital Sports Medicine Way
At Capital Sports Medicine, we use exercises that are designed to get you moving as efficiently as possible.
This means that every muscle completing the motion is doing its job equally. No muscle is working harder than the other. If we can achieve this while doing the things you wand and need to be able to do, there will not be any excess muscle tension.
We do use stretching in your rehab! But only 20% of what we treat is to manage your pain. The remaining 80% of rehab is focused on preventing that muscle from working harder than others.
Be specific to the things that you need and want to do!
We use strategies to get the nervous system happy. Loading muscles that are needed to accomplishing the things you do day to day.
How To Get The Best Out Of Stretching?
Stretches are definitely effective for increasing range of motion and reducing tension in muscles...
But to get the best results you need to follow your stretches up with exercises that get YOU back to moving.
To do this, your therapist will need to assess your strengths and movements. This way we can give you the right exercise to get you moving pain free and doing the things you love this fall!
If you're struggling with pain, maybe you've tried stretching and they just didn't work... Maybe the pain is stopping you from living the best life you had envisioned for yourself. We want to hear from you.
