Sacred Earth Massage & Healing

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Active Isolated Stretching is a key component of our approach to sports therapy and chronic pain therapy; it is also the basis of the Muscle Release Technique^®.  Stretching the muscles, both during our session and at home on your own, helps ensure the muscle relaxes and stays relaxed.  Especially in working to relax muscles that may have been shortened and tightened for years, it is important to stretch in an effective way.  

The standard prolonged stretch, held for up to 60 seconds, works for many people to loosen normally flexible muscles that are temporarily tightened.  However, it can be counterproductive in cases where the shortened muscles are aggravated to the point of causing pain.  

Prolonged static stretching decreases the blood flow within the tissue and triggers an automatic protective response from the nervous system to contract the muscle. Rather than relaxing the chronic tightness in the muscle, this can actually increase irritation of the local muscular, tendons and  neural tissues.

Another problem with traditional stretching is that many people try to stretch a muscle at the same time they are contracting it.  For example,  the lower leg (calf) is traditionally stretched from the standing position by leaning against a supportive wall, fence, etc. The main problem is the gastrocnemius (calf) muscle, which is stabilizing the knee and ankle joints. When leaning forward the calf muscle is performing a lengthening contraction to stabilize both joints and is not a relaxed muscle.  It is very difficult to stretch a muscle at the same time that you are asking it to contract.  A similar problem arises when trying to stretch the hamstring or groin muscle from any standing position.

Email Annette Hulse or phone at  650-814-6074

Email Dick Fancher or phone at 650-814-6077

Directions to our office (by appointment only)

Serving the San Francisco Bay Area (California) communities of Atherton, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and Woodside.

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^{Revised: May 15, 2010}