Stretching exercises are very convenient because
they can be done anywhere!

Stretching exercises are what people commonly refer to as “pulling tendons”. The muscle tissue of the human body is connective tissue that has a very close relationship to temperature change;like chewing gum, it is elastic when the weather is warm and hardens when the weather is cold; on cold and wet days blood circulation in the body is relatively poor and this has a certain effect on muscle elasticity. Through the pumping effect of simple stretching exercises the tendons that connects muscle and bone are extended suitably, helping blood circulation by reducing tissue fluid stasis at these points caused by the cold weather, and also making muscles more supple.

There are two types of stretching, static and dynamic stretching; doing dynamic stretching before exercise extends muscles so they perform better in competition and also reduces the chance of sports injury; also, with respect to muscle tightness or minor trauma caused by strenuous exercise, static stretching after exercise can also be used to slowly relax the muscles and promote lactate metabolism.

Stretching exercises aren’t just for athletes. When ordinary people have an incorrect posture for a long period of time, forcing muscles to contract in a bad situation, a person will feel tired, and minor tears and muscle tightness can also result. If posture is suddenly changed at this time the chance of muscle tear will be increased. Discomfort such as Mother’s hand, tennis elbow, lower back pain, stiff neck, sole of foot pain are often related to the poor postures of people who habitually use cell phones (phubbers) or computers and lack of suitable stretching. This means that, even if you aren’t an athlete, developing the habit of doing static stretching can help you stay clear of these modern ailments and also correct incorrect posture.

	The principles of stretching exercises Please pay attention to the following key points when stretching Don’t endure pain   The correct feeling when stretching is slight muscle tightness or ache, at the most a slight stabling pain. If you feel a lot of pain you are using too much force and need to relax suitably to avoid muscle tear. Remember, stretching is not a “no pain no pain” exercise. Hold the stretch and do a number of repetitions   Each stretch is usually maintained for 30 to 90 seconds and repeated 5-10 times in principle. However, aching feeling depends on personal tolerance level and seriousness of symptoms so, if you feel sharp pain, you don’t have to maintain the stretch for a full 90 seconds and can achieve good results by instead increasing the number of repetitions.   When symptoms are serious stretching needs to be combined with other treatment methods   Starting from the next article we will introduce stretching for different groups of people. Stretching is a very good daily self-care exercise and regular stretching can prevent or ease some ailments, however, for those people with serious symptoms, the best results will be achieved by combining stretching with posture correction and physical therapy. Stretching after applying hot pack has better results   The effect of all stretching exercises is enhanced after application of hot packs (ie when the muscles are warm) so, apart from stretching to relax muscles when you feel muscle tightness, the effect of stretching will be improved if the full set of exercises is done after a hot shower; however, it is recommended that people who are injured don’t do stretching exercises between 11pm and 3am to avoid interfering with the body’s recovery.

Doing correct and sufficient stretching exercises before playing badminton can help you perform better and also reduce the chance you will suffer a sports injury; this is why warming up is important. Static stretching after exercise helps your muscles relax and avoids serious muscle ache the day after you engage in strenuous exercise; this is commonly referred as “warming down.” (The above content represents the writer’s views alone and does not represent those of this company)

( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )