Stretching- Good or Bad?

Monkee in South Africa

People often ask me whether it is good for the body to stretch.  I think it depends on the intensity of the stretch, but read on and decide for yourself.

In general, stretching commonly involves pulling against the nerves of a muscle (golgi tendon organ and muscle spindles) which tell you by tightening when to stop a movement.  In other words, overstretching is often felt as forcing the body to lengthen against this resistance.  This is a special kind of message to the nervous system where the mind commands the body to overcome the body’s boundary of protection.  Imagine holding on to a teddy bear while somebody else is trying to pull it away.  That’s an extreme example of feeling of resistance to force.

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