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The Physiology of Stretching

Sara Poteat

1. Discuss each of the physiological components at work when muscles are


stretched (there are 6 identified in the video). Use your own words but be
thorough.
The physiological components at work when muscles are stretched include the following:
 Muscle Composition: Muscles and bones collectively make up the body’s
musculoskeletal system. Bones are joined together by joints, and they provide posture
and structural support for the body. Muscles are attached to bones by tendons, and they
allow the body to move by contracting and creating tension. Although muscles have the
same basic structure at the microscopic level, they do vary in overall shape and size and
serve different purposes. Large muscles control the motion of the body while small
muscles regulate blood flow and facilitate balance.
 Muscle Contraction: There is no such thing as a partially contracted muscle fiber. As a
muscle contracts, it recruits the proper amount of fibers needed to perform the action.
The more muscle fibers that are recruited for a movement, the stronger the force
generated by the muscular contraction.
 Connective Tissue: These include tendons, ligaments, and fascial sheaths that bind
muscles into separate groups, and they are located around the muscles and muscle fibers.
They have a base substance which acts as a lubricant and a glue. More elastic connective
tissue around a joint allows for greater range of motion.
 Cooperating Muscle Groups: When muscles cause a limb to move through its joint’s
ROM, they usually act in the following cooperating groups: agonists, antagonists,
synergists, and fixators. Agonists, or “prime movers”, are the muscles primarily
responsible for generating movement. Antagonists act in opposition to the agonist and
are responsible for returning the limb to its initial position. Synergists, or “neutralizers”,
assist the agonist in performing the movement by eliminating or neutralizing extra
motion. Fixators, or “stabilizers”, provide support and stabilize the rest of the body while
movement occurs.
 The Stretching Function: Muscle contraction means that tension has been generated in
the muscle, and muscles can contract in isometric or isotonic ways. Within isotonic
contractions, there are concentric (muscle shortens) and eccentric (muscle lengthens)
contractions. The basic unit of contraction in the muscle fiber is the sarcomere. When
you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length, and the connective tissue
takes up the remaining slack. Proprioceptors are the source of all perception of one’s
own body position and movement, and they are found in all nerve endings of the joints,
muscles, and tendons.
 Components of a Stretch: When a muscle stretches, it also stretches the muscle spindle,
which is what triggers the “stretch reflex”. The stretch reflex is a trigger which attempts
to resist change in muscle length by forcing the stretched muscle to contract. You can
gradually train your stretch receptors to allow greater lengthening of the muscles by
holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time. Once the tension exceeds a certain
threshold, it triggers the lengthening reaction which causes it to relax and makes it easier
to stretch the muscle.
2. Write two to three paragraphs about how you would describe/explain
flexibility to a group of 16 year old students. Make sure you write about the
stretch reflex of flexibility. Include information on how you would
communicate relevance, safety information and the importance of flexibility.
As you guys know, flexibility is one of the 5 components of health-related fitness. This
means it is a super important component for everyone to achieve overall health, however it is
sometimes the most overlooked. Here is why flexibility is so important: it improves posture and
body symmetry so we don’t end up as an old hunchback, it can help relieve muscle cramps and
soreness and reduce your risk of injury (especially if you play sports or exercise), it can relieve
stress, help you relax, and improve your overall health and fitness.
You guys know the two types of flexibility because we have used them in class. Dynamic
flexibility is when we are moving the joints through ROM while moving or performing an
activity. This is what we do at the beginning of class as part of the warmup and includes things
like lunge & reach, spiderman walk, inchworms, frankensteins, butt kicks, etc. Static flexibility is
when we hold the muscles for a period of time and stretch them without moving. This is what
we do at the end of class after activity and includes things like seated hamstring stretch,
butterfly, downward dog, runner’s stretch, quad pull stretch, etc. This is the point when we are
fighting against our body’s stretch reflex. When we stretch a muscle, it triggers a reaction which
tries to inhibit the stretch by forcing the muscle to contract. As we hold the stretch for a
prolonged period of time (10-30 seconds), our body overcomes the stretch reflex and finally
triggers the lengthening reaction, which allows the muscle to relax and makes it easier for us to
stretch the muscle. It is important to be extremely careful when stretching because if you push
the muscle or joint past its ROM too quickly, it can tear and cause excruciating pain and injury.
The rule of thumb is to slowly stretch the muscle just until you feel a little discomfort, and then
release it just a tad and hold it right there for 10-30 seconds.

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