We know you’ve heard this before, but we can't stress this enough – mobility is important and everyone needs to be practicing it consistently. Why not just say "stretching?" Believe it or not, some people are born naturally stretchy. For a variety of reasons, your natural "stretchiness" will differ from the next person's, and that means what is a healthy stretch for you may not be for someone else. But no matter what physical limitations a body has, everybody can work to maintain the mobility they already have.
Practicing mobility isn’t just something that should be done for athletes, runners, and people who do yoga. When it comes to maintaining a healthy set of joints and muscles – it’s important for everyone. Here are a few reasons why:
Stretching Increases Your Flexibility and Mobility
Having a consistent stretching routine (when staying within the painless parts of your range of motion) will lengthen your muscles which improves flexibility and allows your body to move more freely. Many people often don't make the connection between injuries and a poor range of motion or a lack of flexibility. Simply put, if you are looking to reduce or avoid your chances of suffering from back pain or other common injuries, you may need to stretch more.
Stretching Improves Your Posture
When muscles become tightened, the alignment of your spine will often begin to suffer. It’s very common for individuals to have tight muscle on one side of their body but not necessarily on the other, thus causing a postural imbalance. Over time, poor posture can create many different problems and injuries so it’s important to work out those tight muscles before things get worse.
Stretching Reduces Stress
Taking the time to stretch and breathe is a very effective way to relax and de-stress. Pain in your neck, shoulders, and back can also be caused by having tension in some of your muscles due to stress. So, if you’re starting to feel like you are burnt out, start a mobility routine and stick to it.
Stretching Keeps You Feeling Young
Did you know that as we get older, our muscles get started to become increasingly shorter and tighter? If you’re not making an effort to be practicing your mobility every day, you’re not taking proper care of your aging body. Increasing your healthy mobility, range of motion, and stress levels will help you feel young and fit no matter what age. If you are having any pain during these activities or despite them, please see a qualified musculoskeletal provider to address your pain. Cache Valley Chiropractic has a number of tools that make us well-equipped to address the root cause of your pain!
