Do enjoy foam rolling and massage therapy? If you do, then you are most likely familiar with fascia, or you’ve heard the term tossed around. If you don’t stretch or engage with foam rolling, you can’t expect the body to move with ease. In fact, tight fascia contributes to sore muscles and an inability to elongate them during stretching. That’s why fascia stretching is one of the newest forms of focused stretching. 

What Is Fascia?

Fascia is the sheath of connective tissues that separates, protects, and encases bones, organs, cardiovascular vessels, and neurological structures in the body. Because it surrounds many of the body’s important structures, it stretches as you move. One of fascia’s primary functions is to reduce friction between muscles and organs. When it becomes irritated, though, you can experience immense stiffness, tightness, and pain that restricts mobility. This can happen as a result of low hyaluronan, a substance that exists between facia layers and supports movements. Decreased levels of hyaluronan can result from overuse of a certain body part, recovering from an injury, or lack of physical activity. 

What Is Fascia Stretching?

Fascia stretching, or fascial stretch therapy (FST), is a form of stretching that helps reduce tension in the fascia. While you can engage with certain movements on your own, there are many facilities that offer the assisted form of this type of stretching. For example, a stretch therapist will target the fascia and joint capsule to achieve strength, flexibility, pain relief, and movement. Therapists perform FST on a massage table, more often than not, and tend to provide results instantaneously. 

Even though it can feel amazing to have another person stretch you, FST can be a little expensive for regular visits. Fortunately, you can easily keep the fascia limber and flexible, which ultimately enhances your overall mobility. Engage in the following fascia stretching exercises, which work to target your major muscles and accompanying fascia. You can do these moves in order or separately, depending on what you need to target. They are simply tools that help fine tune your body so it can function without pain.

Kneeling Plantar Fascia Stretch

The plantar fascia is the band of tissue that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot, providing arch support and shock absorption. If the plantar fascia is irritated, you increase your risk of developing plantar fasciitis. Stretching the plantar fascia can help prevent or manage pain. Start on your hands and knees with your toes flexed behind you. Walk your hands closer to your body as you sit your hips farther back until you eventually sit back on your heels. Feel the stretch along the soles of your feet and hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Return to the starting position.

Upper Trunk Rotation Stretch

Some of you may be more familiar with the other name of this stretch: thread the needle. It works to lengthen the rotators of the upper part of the torso, but it also helps to stretch the thoracolumbar fascia. This is a diamond-shaped area of connective tissue that covers muscle in the thoracic and lumbar regions of the back. Bring yourself into a tabletop position, keeping your palms on the ground directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Lift the right arm up to the ceiling, and then gently twist your torso as you thread your right arm under your body, coming to rest on your right shoulder. You can also rest your right temple on the mat, directing your gaze at your right hand, and make sure to keep your left arm extended beyond your head. Hold this pose for 20-30 seconds and then repeat on the other side. 

Lower Trunk Rotation

For people with a tight lower back or general lower back pain, this is the best stretch to do. It works to elongate the rotators of the lower part of the torso, in addition to the thoracolumbar fascia. Start by lying flat on your back with both legs extended in front of you. Extend your left arm out to the side and keep it relaxed. Bend your left leg and rotate it to the right side of the body. Using your right hand, gently grab the top of the left knee and pull it down towards the floor. Keeping your shoulders flat on the ground is more important than the left knee touching the ground. Hold this stretch for 20-30 seconds and then repeat on the other side. 

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Stretching to increase flexibility for improved performance is a common practice for exercise enthusiasts and athletes alike. It is a necessary step to decrease the risk of injury, but it is also an excellent recovery method. This may come as a surprise to a lot of people, but most people don’t know how to stretch the muscles they think they are stretching. For instance, people may think that they have limber hamstrings, when in fact they really have flexible lower back muscles. And when you can’t stretch the right muscles, tension is created and the risk of injury increases.

What Is Stretch Therapy?

Stretch therapy entered the modern athletic recovery scene within the past ten years, and droves of people are flocking to it in order to accelerate recovery and boost overall performance. The one on one assisted stretch sessions take people through different movements to increase range of motion by remodeling the fascia and muscles. Using Dynamic Integrated Stretching (DIS), a method that involves joint stabilization, muscle isolation, and repetitive motion, stretch therapy works to soften muscle tissue across multi-directional planes.

What Is Stretch Pro LA?

Stretch Pro LA is one of Los Angeles’ premier recovery studios that specializes in stretch therapy. In addition to the stretch sessions, the company offers other forms of recovery, including recovery boots, percussive massage, and infrared sauna. Stretch Pro LA aims to assist people with achieving optimal athleticism and performance.

Our content writer reached out to Stretch Pro LA, which has locations in Brentwood, Downtown LA, West Hollywood, and Pasadena, to learn a little more about stretch therapy. Learn about his experience at Stretch Pro LA below.

Let me start out by saying that I stretch on a daily basis. It has become part of my morning routine to help stay limber and loose, with the ultimate goal of not injuring myself during my workouts. That being said, there are times when I wish I could deepen a stretch or relieve tension, especially in my hips. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to experience a stretch therapy session.

The Stretch Pro office in Pasadena, CA is an open space with stretch tables neatly arranged on one side of the office, and a recovery station with reclining chairs toward the back. The woman at the front desk greeted me and explained the different therapy options as though she was detailing restaurant menu specials. There are three primary stretch sessions: Focus, Complete, and Healer.

The Focus: lasts 25 minutes and is designed to target the areas or muscles that need the most attention.

The Complete: lasts 50 minutes and you can choose between upper or lower body stretches that help to elongate muscles and improve mobility.

The Healer: lasts 80 minutes and assists with total body care, giving ample time to focus on specific areas or injury for maximum mobility.

After signing the waiver, I was introduced to my “stretcher,” a young man named Patrick who had a background in sports rehabilitation. For anyone interested in becoming a stretcher, he assured me that Stretch Pro LA offers certifications and training. Patrick asked me if I had any pain or areas I wanted to focus on, considering I was offered The Focus session. I opted to stretch my lower back, hips, and legs. If that wasn’t the best decision I ever made, I don’t know what is.

I lay on my back on the stretch table, which is similar to a massage table, and Patrick began by gently tightening a strap across my mid-section. Fear not, people, you are not clamped to the table. The strap helps to hold the body in place during several stretches. First, he started stretching my hamstrings, checking to see when I felt a stretch and whether it was too intense or not. He performed the same stretch several different times, so as to elongate the fascia and deepen the stretch.

The standout moment of the stretch session happened when Patrick began stretching my hip flexors. I have never been able to stretch my hips like that, and my goodness did it feel fantastic. If that was the only stretch I received that day it would have been worth it. At the same time, I was saddened by the fact that I wouldn’t be able to do that stretch on my own, given that he pulled my body on a way that I cannot do alone. The stretch session culminated with a mild calf stretch, and then I made my way to the recovery bar.

The Recovery Bar

Stretch Pro LA was kind enough to set me up with a 15-minute recovery boot session. I sat in a recliner chair and slipped into digitally controlled air pressure leg sleeves, also known as recovery boots. The goal of this therapy is to use dynamic compression to improve circulation, increase recovery time, reduce muscle fatigue, and take athletic performance to the next level. Recent studies have shown that lymphatic therapy provides improved muscle recovery, specifically because the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like the heart. The dynamic compression, then, helps to flush out waste that may contribute to sore or fatigued muscles.

When the recovery boot session came to a close, I slipped off the boots and stood up, only to realized that my legs felt like noodles. My muscles tingled and I imagined that I looked like a baby deer attempting to walk for the first time. I think I just stood up too soon after sliding the boots off. Take note of this, people. Allow yourself several minutes to sit there before standing up.

Anyone who is looking for alternative therapies to improve muscle recovery and mobility, I encourage you to try out Stretch Pro LA. Let it be known that people should wear active or athletic wear when attending a stretch session in order to be mobile. It is also a pricey therapy, and while they offer packages with discounts, it is definitely intended for a clientele that doesn’t mind spending a little extra on total body care. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive to the needs of each customer, making it an overall pleasant and uniquely relaxing experience.

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