What Happens When You Stretch

  In this reading involving stretching, I was able to learn more in depth about proprioceptors, the lengthening reaction, reciprocal inhibition, the stretch reflex, and components of the stretch reflex. When stretching, the sacromere, the basic unit of contraction in the muscle fiber, contracts which causes an increase of the area of overlap between the thick and thin myofilaments. When stretching, the overlapping area decreases which causes an increased length of the muscle fiber and more force to be placed on the surrounding connective tissue. An interesting thing that I learned about in the reading was that overstretching of muscles can exhibit either a positive or negative result on the body; while overstretching may lead to an increase in flexibility, it can also cause an increased risk of injury.



Some quotes that I found interesting in the reading include:

"When you stretch...it helps to realign any disorganized fibers in the direction of the tension. The realignment is what helps to rehabilitate scarred tissue back to health," (1).
In the past, I perceived that people stretched primarily to reduce the chance of injury; however, this quote made me realize that many individuals who have already injured themselves often undergo physical therapy or incorporate various stretches in our for their bodies to heal more quickly.

"Some sources suggest that with extensive training, the stretch reflex of certain muscles can be controlled so that there is little or no reflect contraction in response to a sudden stretch. While this type of control provides the opportunity for the greatest gains in flexibility, it also provides the greatest risk of injury if used improperly," (2).
I thought it was interesting to see that too much stretching can exhibit both a positive and negative effect. While excessive stretching may be beneficial in allowing the muscles to relax and become more flexible, it can also cause further damage.


"When stretching, it is easier to stretch a muscle that is relaxed than to stretch a muscle that is contracting. By taking advantage of the situations when reciprocal inhibition does occur, you can get a more effective stretch by inducing the antagonists to relax during the stretch due to the contraction of the agonists" (3).
This quote was interesting since I originally thought that all types of stretching would inhibit the same result; however, after reading the article, I was able to learn that stretching is far easier what the muscle is relaxed and can also yield more effective results.