Could Stretching Your Sore Back Be Making It Worse?

Many people come to my online Pilates studio in search of a solution to their debilitating pain. Whether it's their back, neck or hip that's causing them pain most have tried everything and Pilates is their last resort. They invariably have a series of stretches that have been shown to them by a well-meaning practitioner that they have been practising daily.  They aren't making any progress and aren't sure why this would be.  They also want to know how what I'm going to teach them will be any different from what they have already been doing.  While stretching has its place, if you are dealing with chronic pain it's strengthening you need to be doing, not stretching. So let's take a look at how I can help you to strengthen your way to becoming pain-free in my online Pilates studo.

What is the Difference Between Stretching & Strengthening?

If you are unsure of the difference between stretching and strengthening you are certainly not alone and in general there seems to be quite a lot of confusion about being able to differentiate between the two.
Way back when I first started Pilates more than 20 years ago now my instructor asked me how I had found the previous exercise. "It was a wonderful stretch!" I replied enthusiasticly. "It wasn't a stretch, it was a strengthening exercise," she said with an eye roll and a look of pity on her face.  I blushed with embarrassment and wondered what the difference was between them but I was too humiliated to ask. Fast forward a couple of years later and all my questions were answered when I was at university studying to become a Pilates Practitioner.  We strengthen our muscles by consciously activating them while performing movements, activities or exercises . We can use our own body weight, resistance in the form of bands or springs and weights such as hand or ankle weights for example.  There are 3 types of muscle contractions which strengthen our muscles in Pilates:

Eccentric - strengthening a muscle as it lengthens which is the predominant one we focus on in Pilates.

Concentric - strengthening a muscle as it shortens

Isometric - the muscles stay the same length during the contraction.

When you strengthen your muscles eventually you may feel an aching or burning feeling when the muscle is under load as in the case of glute strengthening exercises for example.  Sometimes it's more subtle as Pilates focuses on strengthening the smaller, slow twitch muscles which are the stabilisers of the body. These include the Transversus Abdominus and Pelvic Floor for example that form part of the core.
Stretching is when you purposely pull a muscle or muscle group from both ends to improve the elasticity of the muscles and also increase the range of movement of the joint.  There are 3 types of stretching:

Static - when you remain still during the stretch

Dynamic - when you are moving 

Ballistic- which involves "bouncing" into the stretch

Can You Strengthen & Stretch At The Same Time?

In short, yes. In Pilates we don't isolate muscles but rather focus on oppositional movements. When you are practising an exercise, one group of muscles is lengthened and controlled while the opposing muslce group are stabilising the body. Therefore it is possible to lengthen or stretch and strengthen at the same time.  Examples of oppositional muscle groups are quadriceps & hamstrings and biceps and triceps. 

Why Does Sretching Make Your Pain Worse?

When you have a painful condition such as back pain for some people stretching will feel good at the time and relieve the pain temporarily only for it to return again. This is a viscious and frustrating cycle that a lot of people keep repeating.  For others, stretching a sore back makes the pain worse, but they persist believing that eventually it it will "let go."  When muscles are continually tight it's important to know why they are tight.  It's usually an indicator of a muscle imbalance. This means that one group of muscles may be underworking and deactivated and another set of muscles is overcompensating by tightening up in response to hold you together. That's why stretching alone is not successful in relieving back pain because you are only addressing the symptom which is the tightness rather than addressing the cause. That's why an Initial Assessment, a private one on one session, is so important to establish just exactly what muscle imbalances you have and how best to correct them.  Strengthening the core including the abdominals, glutes and back muscles is the first place to begin for everyone to help stabilise the spine and pelvis.  We strengthen from the inside out in Pilates so once you have developed some core strength we can work on correcting the imbalances and rebuilding the other muscles of the body, so you can become pain-free and move freely again . Sometimes strategic stretches are part of the program for some people but usually not until they have enough core strength to support their spines.  Muscle imbalances don't like to let go until they know the correct muscles are going to take over the supportive role . It's a protective mechanism that allows you to keep functionning even it it does mean you are in pain.  My online Pilates program provides the tools you need to combine strengthening and appropriate stretching to help you move with ease again.

Who Is Most At Risk From Overstretching?

It's very common for hypermobile people to absolutely love stretching and actually become addicted to it when what they should be doing is strengthening.  If you are hypermobile, the ligaments around your joints are very loose.  The common way to describe this is by saying you are "double jointed" which doesn't really exist.  It just means you are very flexible and really need to strengthen your muscles to support those loose joints.  On the other end of the scale, a person who is hypomobile has ligaments that are very tightly bound around the joints. Hypomobile people usually find stretching difficult because they are so tight and much prefer strengthening. So your own body type will actually influence the way you want to move and it's not always the best guide to help you out of chronic pain.

My online Pilates studio is specifically designed to help you recover from pain or injury and I can asses you and design a program for you based on your individual needs to help you become pain-free. Click here to learn more about my online studio and how you can start working with me.  Alternatively contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions. Stretching your way out of pain doesn't work but once you have the core stability and have rebuilt your body with Pilates you will have a new way of moving and will feel like you can take on the world!