> |
> |
Stretching
Question
I know that stretching is important, but I find it so awkward and painful that I almost never do it. Are there certain stretches that are particularly important for inline skating?
Answer
Stretching is only painful if you overstretch. Muscles have two kinds of receptors inside them: Muscle spindles and Golgi organs. Both are sensitive to the rate of stretch as well as the tension developed with an elongated muscle, and serve to protect the muscles from injury. The key to stretching is to fool these receptors to your advantage,.
When you stretch too far or too quickly the muscle spindles are stimulated. They react by causing the muscle to contract, limiting your range of motion and often resulting in pain. The Golgi organs, on the other hand, do the opposite. They tell the muscle to relax, optimizing flexibility and range of motion. The secret is to stretch slowly and ONLY to the point of mild discomfort (so that the muscle spindles are not activated). After roughly 15-20 seconds the muscle spindles ‘settle down’, allowing the response of the Golgi organs to dominate. This gives you a nice relaxed muscle, and highlights the importance of holding stretches for 20-30 seconds. Relax the limb, and repeat 2-3 times for each muscle or muscle group.
As far as muscles, all the muscles of the lower body are used – to one degree of another – when skating (see the two-part article called ‘Those Things That Move Us’, in a recent past issues of FaSST). Most skaters focus on the quadriceps and hamstring muscles on the front and rear of the thigh, respectively. But I can tell you that the muscles most often neglected when stretching are the small gluteal muscles on the side of the butt, and the hip flexor group that crosses the hip on the front of the body. There are many good books on the market. Visit Human Kinetics Publishers at www.hkusa.com and search under ‘stretching’.
opyright © 2004 Barry Publow. All Rights Reserved.
