by Chris Watts

In order to confuse athletes, personal trainers, physiotherapists and other members of the sporting fraternity, here is another new approach to stretching muscles, connective tissue and fascia.

Most methods of stretching (at least 10 on my last count) focus on stretching muscles – and you can actually stretch a muscle 1.6 times from its rested state before it tears. Range of movement, which determiners how mobile we all are, is based on the joint structures rather than the muscles. Most tension and injuries are located at the joint. Ninety per cent of people who visit us are simply hypercontracted at the joint level. Getting blood, oxygen and nutrients into muscles is straightforwards as there is plenty of circulation in and out of muscle tissue, but it’s much harder to deal with binding structures around the joint capsules, which are made mostly of collagen (a tough, inflexible protein).

Most clients we come across have weak, tight, contracted and generally stiff musculature from either a lack of movement or too much. Some hip joints feel as though the femoral head is glued to the pelvic bone.

With active isolated stretching (AIS), the client moves joints to his or her “end feel” or barrier and then passively stretches for up to two seconds to prevent the engagement of the stretch reflex (a built-in protective mechanism that contracts muscle tissue when it detected that it is being overstretched). The client then returns to the start position and is able to provide all the tissue with adequate blood flow right down to the joint capsule itself and, in turn, flush out the bio junk and lymph back into the blood stream to be expunged from the body.

With past methods of static stretching, where the client eases into a position and stretches for up to 60 seconds, latest research suggests it takes about five seconds of holding a tight muscle in a rigid position to decrease blood supply, which depletes the muscle of much-needed oxygen and increases the build-up of acidity, which the body needs to release. If you are stretching your lower back and you already have structural instability, by holding a stretch for more than two seconds, engaging the stretch reflex, you could cause further injury and tissue damage in an already delicate area. Breathing is also a crucial part of the AIS technique because when you breathe out on the stretch you slow down the activation of the stretch reflex, thus ensuring a more relaxed, safer stretch.

Most people, through poor ergonomics and forward-leaning posture, overload their lower backs, which in turn puts pressure on the vertebral disks that cushion the spine. The slow and rhythmic isolated movements of the active contract/release techniques of AIS will provide quick structural changes that reprogramme the body’s neuromuscular system.

Finding the balance between strength and flexibility and good postural symmetry is the key to maximizing performance on the sports field and reducing excess load on joints and tendons. The goal is to prevent injuries.

Useful links:

>> watch Active Isolated Stretching used for postural re-alignement

>> clients' testimonials

>> listen to Chris Watts explaining AIS in a radio interview