More remedies for muscle stiffness

George Guerin | Fitness Blogger By George Guerin | Fitness Blogger
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on January 27, 2010 at 3:43 PM, updated January 27, 2010 at 4:02 PM

I’d like to piggy-back off of yesterday’s post where I discussed the how and why of muscle tightness. Once there’s muscle tightness, what’s the best way to relieve it?

I think activating all the muscles above and below the focal area is a good place to start. Muscle activation, which can be achieved through any proper warm-up (or in some cases by using electro-stimulation devices) can stimulate nerves and muscles in areas that have tightness. Doing this increases blood flow in the muscles, essentially warming up the tissues around the affected area.

In most cases, after the muscles are activated, using light resistance to increase strength in the muscles will help keep them from tightening up. The stronger a muscle is, the less likely it will be to tighten (sometimes the sign of a weak muscle).

stretch.jpgStatic Stretching

Stretching the area (combined with strengthening) may also work. Consider:

PNF stretching: PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching is a stretching procedure designed to increase range of motion. By applying a timed resistance while a muscle is being stretched can facilitate more blood flow to the region. This in turn can help increase range of motion on the next static stretch.
Static Stretching: This technique is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. It is composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position (to the point of discomfort) and hold that position for 15 seconds to a minute.
AI Stretching: This technique works as a deep tissue massage technique by activating muscle fibers during stretching. Actively contracting the muscle opposite the isolated muscle allows the isolated muscle to relax in preparation for its stretch. By stretching it gently and quickly (holding the stretch for no more than two seconds), the stretch is released before the muscle reacts to being stretched (by going into its protective contraction, or the stretch reflex).

I once heard the analogy of tight muscles being like walking on ice. When walking on ice we tend to tense up our whole body to keep our feet from slipping out from under us. As I mentioned yesterday, muscles tense like this on their own (usually from sitting at a desk for years on end) sometimes; this can result in pain and irritation which is unnecessary. Employ the above techniques to keep your body finely tuned.