The Physiology of Stretching
The human body is equipped with built-in safety mechanisms that help us avoid injury and coordinate our movements. In particular, your kinesthetic sense, which allows you to interpret your orientation in space, gathers stimuli from your muscles, tendons and ligaments and rallies it to your central nervous system (CNS), the brain and spinal cord.
This sensory information contains details on the length, tension and pressure applied on the muscular tissues, collectively known as proprioceptors. Once the CNS receives the motor messages, nerve transmissions are conducted back to the muscles to respond as appropriate.
Stretch reflexes occur when nerve transmissions are sent directly from the spinal cord to the muscle to make them contract. Stretch reflexes are natural responses that help us prevent injury to our muscles and joints. By understanding stretch reflexes, you can employ our knowledge to construct effective stretching programs to faster achieve your fitness goals.
The Myotatic Stretch Reflex
The myotatic stretch reflex, operated by muscle spindle proprioceptors, prevent you from over-stretching and tearing your muscle fibres. Located in the belly of skeletal muscles, muscle spindles deliver messages to the CNS on the amount that it is stretched. In turn, a nerve transmission is sent back to trigger a muscle contraction to decrease the stretch.
The degree of contraction reflects how strong and fast the stretch was performed. Thus, the myotatic stretch reflex is likely to occur in bouncing and ballistic stretches, which are quick and forceful. In contast, slow and controlled stretches are less likely to incur a stretch reflex, allowing your muscles to relax and lengthen.
The Inverse Myotatic Stretch Reflex
The inverse myotatic stretch reflex protects a joint from injury when intense forces are applied to a tendon. When a muscle is forcefully contracted or stretched, the Golgi Tendon Organ proprioceptors within the muscle activate and send a message to the CNS on the excess tension in the muscle tendon. The muscle responds by relaxing in order to reduce the stress on the tendon. This relaxation effect of the muscle is particularly useful for PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) Stretching.
Related Pages:
Benefits of Stretching - Discover the benefits of flexibility training.
Stretching Methods - Learn how to stretch effectively and properly.
Flexibility Training - Learn how to setup a fitness regime that incorporates stretching.
