You bend down to pick something you dropped and suddenly feel a sharp pain in your lower back. You think your muscles must have gotten tight since you haven’t stretched them in a long while. But is stretching really the right answer for those frequent aches, like we think, or is it strength training? Which one actually has your back – literally? Let’s find out.
What Stretching Actually Does to Our Muscles
Even though we think we are easing our muscles with stretching, it actually changes our nervous system. Our nervous system is like a bodyguard who is so good at his job that sometimes he overreacts to protect us from anything it perceives as a threat. The perceived threat can even be a sudden movement your body isn’t used to. And that’s why you feel that sudden tightness while bending down – it’s your nervous system’s overreacting to stop you from moving in a way it doesn’t fully trust.
Stretching teaches this too-good-at-his-job bodyguard (our nervous system) to relax and not overreact. It does so in two ways:
- Static Stretching (when we hold a position, like touching our toes for 20 seconds )
- Dynamic Stretching ( like doing arm circles, where we swing our arms all the way around.)
While stretching does improve our flexibility, it still doesn’t prepare us for the unexpected injuries that happen to us. For instance, when we trip on a curb or slip on the wet bathroom floor, our body must instantly absorb and control that energy. Just stretching alone doesn’t give our body the “braking power” to control the sudden force, but our joints still remain vulnerable to the painful sprains.
So, How Do We Build a Body That Doesn’t Get Easily Hurt?
The answer isn’t just becoming more flexible – it’s about preparing your tendons and muscles to handle unpleasant surprises, like slipping on a wet floor or catching a falling object.
When we do strength training exercises like squats or push-ups, we’re giving our tendons (the rope-like cords that attach our muscles to our bones) a little productive stress.
As a reaction to this stress, our body rebuilds them, and our tendons become even stronger. It’s like turning a flimsy grocery bag (our original tendons that can’t handle too much stress) into a rugged and strong tote bag that won’t break, no matter how many heavy items are thrown into it.
So when we get those sudden slips and falls, the new, stronger tendon can now:
- Transfer the force from the muscle to the bone.
- Elastically stretch to absorb the shock without tearing.
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So, should you give up stretching?
Should you ditch stretching altogether because it doesn’t make your tendons stronger? Absolutely not. The goal is to use both tools – stretching and strength training according to your fitness goals.
Practice strength training 2-3 times a week to get its compounding effect on your joints and tendons. Focus on:
- Squats and lunges: for your knees.
- Push-Ups: for the upper back pain we get from hunching over our laptop
- Planks: to support our forearms and toes.
Use stretching smartly:
- Dynamic stretches like torso twists to warm up
- Static stretches like the Hamstring stretch for your nervous system
Besides your body, if your mind is also loud, the practice you need to add to your routine is yoga. Even short yoga classes are a simple way to begin. If you’re in Bangalore, you can choose a flexible option. Few Online Yoga Classes Bangalore offers not only will fit your schedule but also help you grow.
The Bottom Line
The way to prevent unexpected injuries like getting a sprained ankle isn’t about becoming more flexible, as we have always known. It’s about becoming stronger where it counts.
Stretching helps you move better, but strength training expands what’s possible for your body while making you more resilient.
Similarly, mindful yoga classes can also teach your body how to be resilient by helping you stay stable and calm under pressure, both on and off the mat. And if you are lucky enough to be in Bangalore, which has the perfect climate for comfort (and hence no excuses), don’t miss the online Yoga Classes Bangalore people are signing up for.
In the end, there’s no one winner among stretching, strength training, or yoga – you need all three, working together to keep you strong and grounded for whatever life throws at you.
