The Importance of Stretching
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- Written By: St. John's Health
Stretching isn't only a great way to start your day—it's also great for maintaining your orthopedic health! Here are a few of the many ways stretching can help to improve your joint health.
Stretching Relieves and Prevents Joint Pain
Many people living with chronic pain find that regular stretching helps them to reduce their pain and to get back into their daily routines. Recent studies show that introducing stretching into your routine can help to decrease fatigue, pain, and other symptoms.
Stretching Improves Posture
When you spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk or standing, your body becomes accustomed to the slouchy and curved position of your spine over time. This change in your posture can lead to pain and other complications in the neck, shoulders, and back.
Incorporating simple stretches into your daily routine can help to reverse these effects by strengthening the muscles and relieving the tension on your back and neck.
Stretching Increases Flexibility and Range of Motion
Regular stretching helps to keep your muscles flexible and strong, which also helps to maintain the range of motion of your joints. Less flexible muscles and connective tissues can restrict joint mobility, leaving you more likely to sustain a joint injury.
Joints require their full range of motion to maintain the health of the structures within the joint. When the body is warmed up, you are able to move through your complete range of motion, increasing blood flow and allowing nutrients to reach your joints easily.
