Moving Through the Fixed and Flexible: Trying Assisted Stretch

In part 3/52 of this challenge, I set myself some ground rules, generalized goals, or guiding principles. 

“I want to be more flexible in my thinking and in my understanding of the world. Biases are not helpful when there is evidence to explore,” was one of those principles. 

Assisted stretching was an easy thing to try. I exercise and I ache. I have a much beloved mother who is living through the hell of arthritis and all its barriers to a full range of movement and more. My mother’s situation has conditioned me to look for opportunities to keep my joints and muscles limber and happy. Combine those life conditions with the fact that there are ads all over social media offering a free stretch, and you’ve got a potential customer who is easy to convert.  

Last Friday, I clicked on the first one’s free offer at Stretch Zone’s St. Clair West location. The team made it easier still, my appointment was at 7PM, which is late enough to be convenient. I walked in after a difficult work week and worried about a warning light that came on in my car. A listening ear ready to talk about how all my stresses affect my body and how I move. Based on what I said about my hips and lower back, my practitioner determined that I have an anterior pelvic tilt they would address. 

Assisted stretch can mean using straps to hold one limb in place while the practitioner moves your muscles on the opposite limb. I had no issues with their use, but it's easy to understand why others might be uncomfortable with them and need to ask for an accommodation.

Before my session started, I knew that assisted stretching wouldn’t hurt, but I did expect a little physical drama, like the fascia release that comes from a hard massage on tense muscles. That’s not what happens. The goal is for the stretch to move well within your established range of flexibility. If 1 is your neutral position and 10 is your maximum extension, then the stretch practitioners work within points 3 and 7 of that range.

It was a curious experience and I definitely felt more relaxed following the 30 minute treatment. The relief was equivalent to taking a nap before dinner after a long day. I will be investigating assisted stretch further before I make up my mind about whether it is right for me. Typically, movement assessments and re-assessments scheduled every two months and typical treatment plans are set at three months each. These plans usually involve one or two thirty or sixty minute sessions per week. Each session is roughly the same price as a massage with the fees built into a membership model. I’ve purchased a three session package, which must be used in a single month, for $158 and the auto renew option is shut off. It means, I will see how my hips and lower back feel after a month of weekly sessions. I think that’s long enough to be fair about this practice and how it suits me. 

“I would imagine, if you had some kind of mobility issue, then assisted stretch would be very beneficial,” a nursing friend said when I told him about my first experience. “And they might just find a spot you need to work on that you don’t know is throwing your movements off a little.”  

I think this new thing is worth a little more investigation. 

After all, another of the guiding principles I defined in part 3 was: 

“I want to find ways to be healthier and fitter that are evidence-based and feel good to do as seen through an environmental, financial and emotional lens.” 

I guess I owe it to myself to discover that evidence. 

This challenge has seen me try out new ways and places to hang out, support my own creativity and that of my friends, and new activities like ecstatic dancing, archery and aerial sling.