According to the American College of Sports Medicine, reductions in flexibility are evident in the third decade of life and progress with aging. We’ve all experienced times when undue muscle tension has produced discomfort or pain with normal, everyday movement. These times may have followed illness, injury, fatigue or extended periods of inactivity (like sitting or driving for prolonged time, or when rising in the morning). We seem to be increasingly susceptible to this as we age. Proper stretching exercises will help you relax, reduce tension in your muscles, improve circulation to the muscles and enhance your freedom of movement (i.e. flexibility). All of this amounts to slowing part of the aging process.

What are stretching exercises?

Stretching exercises are any movements performed, or positions held, in order to decrease tension in muscles and increase flexibility. Flexibility refers to the available range of motion of your body parts. Muscle tension refers to contraction in the muscle fibers, or the amount of resistance to lengthening of a muscle due to electrical activity from the nervous system. Stretching exercises are generally performed to increase joint range of motion (i.e., flexibility) or to decrease muscle tension.

Good flexibility is desirable for optimal movement of your body parts. Decreasing undue muscle tension improves circulation to the muscles. This means better oxygenation and nutrition to the muscles, as well as waste removal. Reducing muscle tension and increasing circulation to the muscles also increases their suppleness. This improves their ability to absorb the shock and stress of every day movements, as well as athletic activity.

CLICK HERE To learn how to stretch properly with instructions on specific stretches.