Tools for you at home

Stretching is one of the best things you can make time to do to help yourself and the condition of your body.  Exercise, poor posture and age are just some of the things that can stress our muscles and cause them to tighten up, which can lead to injury and pain.  One of the greatest benefits of stretching is that you are able to increase your range of motion, which means your muscles and joints are able to move further before injury occurs.  Stretching after exercise can also aid in recovery, decrease muscle soreness and ensure your muscles and tendons are better able to cope with the rigors of sport and exercise.

Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect from stretching regularly:

• reduced muscle tension
• increased range of motion
• improved muscular co-ordination
• increased circulation
• increased energy levels

The best way to improve your muscles’ range of motion is to hold an easy, gentle stretch for long enough to overcome the muscle’s stretch reflex (the mechanism that causes the muscle to contract in response to a stretch).  This normally takes about 1 minute which is why it is important to stretch for at least this long when trying to change the muscles length and improve flexibility.

The No More Knots stretching charts which you can access via the link below offer a number of simple, effective  stretches for the major muscle groups of the body to help you get pain-free and keep performing at your best!

Download a copy of our stretching sheets (PDF, 350KB)