Why stretching is important in everyday life, not only when exercising

We're often told that we need to stretch before and after we exercise.

But stretching is important for anyone, every day, especially considering our sedentary habits when it comes to working, relaxing and that terrible habit of habitually looking down at our phones.

Often the things we do on a day-to-day basis impact our posture and cause pain, said Lesley Meyer, physiotherapist & extraordinary lecturer at University of Pretoria.

This is because your body is adjusting to the posture you're maintaining on a permanent basis, she says.

"Things like sitting too much, sitting with our legs crossed or with our legs folded under us... sitting on the floor doing work, lying on the bed doing work, all those things. Then you end up with pain. With a lot of the adult patients I see that are behind the computer all day you get the coccyx pain, the lower back pain, the pain in the hips or knees or ankles... and then you hobble with the first few steps when you get up before you loosen up."

She cautions against overstretching, especially if you don't exercise much and you are not warmed up.

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So, do not do too much of a long, sustained stretch because that can do damage to the muscles that are cold.

Meyer uses the way cricket players warm up before a match like we see them doing on TV, as a good example.

"They do a little walk step and then a two-second hold - so like for a quad stretch, they'll grab the leg up and it will be held for two seconds before they drop it down and step forward and grab the other leg up and hold for two seconds and so on, so a two-second moving hold."

"You would do that kind of stretch before you exercise in a sporting event, so before you jog or play a game for instance. It activates the firing of the muscles, and it helps you to then get stretching but without overstretching where your muscle 'vreks' (dies) and doesn't want to fire when you're actually exercising."

If you do have reduced range of movement like a shortened back muscle from sitting skew, then in between when you're warmed up or after a bath or every two hours during the day, you should be taking that two-second hold into a sustained stretch. This is where you hold the position for a good minute or two until you feel the muscle releasing.

It can be very useful to get help from a physiotherapist who will work out an individual stretching strengthening programme for you, she said.

Listen to Meyer's detailed advice in the interview audio at the bottom of the article, and watch her instructive video below:

To listen to Lesley Meyer in conversation with Gugs Mhlungu on 702's Weekend Breakfast, click on the audio link below: