Have you ever woken up one day and noticed that it was much more difficult getting out of bed without feeling that lower back pain? What about feeling slightly off during your 3-mile trail run that you’ve embarked on numerous times, and you now find yourself out of commission for the next 4 to 6 weeks with a hamstring injury. Many of us remember sitting crisscross applesauce in grade school, but when was the last time you got into that position without letting out a grunt of distress compared to your 3-year-old grandchild, who performs the movement with ease. Each of these scenarios have been far too familiar for three of our long-term clients at Stretch Zone. Today, we will discuss some of the ways Practitioner Assisted Stretching has aided Brian, Tim, and Danny to maintain and improve their vastly different lifestyles, doing so pain free.
Aside from decreased muscle tension and soreness, some benefits of stretching include but are not limited to decreased occurrence of injury with athletic performance, improved posture, blood circulation and mobility, as well as an overall reduction in joint pain. The term “stretch” refers to an object (usually soft or elastic) being able to extend or lengthen without tearing or breaking. Your muscles act in almost the same way, when stress, in this case a stretch, is placed on the muscle or surrounding joint, the muscle extends to a point and then returns to its original shape when the stress is removed, ideally without pain or injury. Other examples of stress placed on a muscle could be running, heavy lifting, or even just sitting at your desk for work. Your body, and more specifically your muscles, are at a constant state of activity and must be able to perform optimally in order to efficiently execute a particular task without pain/injury. If your muscles are unable to extend to the parameters necessary to complete a movement or activity, the muscle then becomes overstressed beyond its capacity which is how injury occurs. Similarly, your muscles must activate in order to move the remainder of your musculoskeletal system, i.e., your joints and bones for even the simplest of tasks. Not only are you at risk of injuring the muscle, but also related joints or points of the body where the overactive muscle is attached. Individuals have found stretching drastically reduces the occurrence of pain and injury and having a trained professional specifically target the areas to assist you in stretching your muscles has proven to be quite beneficial in achieving long lasting benefits. My name is Deanna and I have been managing the Stretch Zone, Coleman Blvd studio for about a year now. I wanted to share thoughts from some of our most frequent clients who are never quiet about how much they value their assisted stretch sessions and continue to progress despite limitations one might experience from various factors such as age, activity level, and lifestyle changes.
When asked to share their experiences with practitioner assisted stretching Tim, Brian, and Danny were all thrilled at another opportunity to share exactly how we’ve helped improve their quality of life and have all done so since beginning their journeys at Stretch Zone. To answer my first question “What made you decide to try assisted stretch therapy?” Tim shared he was always in search of a place that would stretch him out rather than him having to do the work himself as there was a key piece he was missing in his recovery as an avid long-distance runner. He never knew a facility such as Stretch Zone existed until driving by our location in Mt. Pleasant, after moving here in 2020. Similarly, Danny felt stretching was something to aid in his overall health, becoming a first-time grandfather in 2019, when he first began coming to Stretch Zone. He had seen he was not as “nimble” as he used to be and a major goal of his was to keep up with the grands and he now spends every weekday with them and attests much of that to the improvement in range of motion. In Brian’s case, he was seeking freedom; freedom from pain he had been experiencing for a long time that other interventions did not seem to provide the long-term relief he needed. Working in a very physical job and being an active individual and father caused an urgent need to be able to live without pain with optimal quality of life. Upon establishing a need for a service such as assisted stretching, all three of our gentlemen underwent an initial evaluation in our studio to jumpstart their journey to flexibility for life and remain active clients even today. From now being onlookers and inquiring minds, these guys are now able to share how much this service has helped them reach their goals. Tim, age 52, runs 80+ miles per week, competing nationally in his age division at various distance races. As a competitive runner, putting high stress to his body, Tim has experienced his fair share of injuries, with overuse injury being highly prevalent in the sport of running. Since participating in assisted stretch sessions at Stretch Zone, has been injury free “truthfully”. He says, “two times a week (for 30-minute sessions) has been the key to staying injury free with running on average 350 days out the year”. Oftentimes we do not experience injury without pain, but sometimes pain is inevitable when our bodies are not functioning appropriately. Brian believes this service has drastically reduced his pain and he was “amazed at how inflexible he was and how stretching provided freedom to simply move without having that pain”. Now he is confident in maintaining an active lifestyle outside of work. Speaking of confidence, Danny recalls not even being able to touch his toes when he first started his sessions. He and his practitioner at the time made it both of their goals to get him touching his toes within the first 3-4 months of his initial program. Once he achieved that goal, he made it his mission to always maintain that improvement in his flexibility. Since then, at the end of every session he shows off how smoothly he’s able to touch his toes!
Of course, one of our favorite things about providing this service to our clients is seeing the smiles on their faces when they reach their goals and share with us new ones they’d like to achieve. But what are some of our clients in this case’s favorite things about Stretch Zone? Brian loves the fact that we can help him reach new goals while keeping his original goal in mind of remaining pain free. Tim deeply appreciates that we are helping to keep him doing what he loves, running and staying healthy. Not to mention, we are a welcoming environment, so he always feels comfortable bringing friends in to see us! Danny has seen a lot of changes in the studio over the last 6 years, one of them seeing our Franchisee, Brooke McCoy start out as the general manager of our Coleman Blvd location to now owning and operating our 3 studios in the Mt. Pleasant and Summerville, SC. He and Brooke first connected over being die hard Tarheel fans and he is so proud of her and the “nice, friendly, and warm people” he’s met over the years. Danny says his sessions always feel like going to hang out with friends or family and we see him and all our clients as such!
And finally, to wrap up this pleasant insight into the minds of some of our clients, each had to say they have already and would continue to recommend their loved ones try out assisted stretch therapy at Stretch Zone! From different walks of life and personal goals, everyone has experienced the effects of lack of mobility that can come with age and many other lifestyle changes. According to Danny “you could work a lot harder and accomplish a lot less”.
Don’t hesitate to enjoy the same benefits as these lovely gentlemen and schedule your FREE stretch consultation today at one of our locations found below. By mentioning this article, you can receive $40 off the first month of sessions at Stretch Zone, Mt. Pleasant and Summerville. We look forward to serving you!
Locations:
320 W Coleman Blvd., Suite M
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
843-388-3331
BOOK YOUR FREEE STRETCH HERE
3381 S Morgan’s Point Rd., Unit 505
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466
843-388-3059
BOOK YOUR FREE STRETCH HERE
318 Brighton Park Blvd., Suite A105
Summerville, SC 29483
843-900-3052
BOOK YOUR FREE STRETCH HERE