Stretching Tight Leg Muscles

It’s best to stretch your leg muscles 3 to 5 times for 20 seconds at a time. Let’s have a look at different stretches for each of the main muscles of the leg. You must always start stretching the larger muscles first. Do not stretch muscles when they are cold, as they are less effective to stretch. A good warmup is ideal before stretching, as it helps get the blood and circulation going through the different parts of the muscles. Stretching should never be painful and is always an individual thing. So don’t compare how far others can stretch, stick within your flexibility and muscle range when you begin. You may discover some muscles are tighter than others while performing all the stretches. The stiffer muscles are the ones you need to stretch more. They are more prone to cause fatigue and injury. Have in mind that these stretches for stiff leg muscles just scratch the surface in correcting muscle imbalances.

1. Hip Flexors stretch – As shown, you stretch until you feel a slight stretch in your hip flexors.
   
2. Thigh/Quad stretch – Place your freehand against a chair, sofa or wall and stretch out the thigh.
   
3. IT Band Stretch
   
4. Hamstring Stretch
   
5. Groin Stretch
   
6. Calf Stretch
   

Why Stretching is Important...

Daily stretching will help you feel better, more youthful and become more limber. Most importantly, stretching leads to improved flexibility that helps to prevent injury, increase circulation and improve overall well being.
Stretching can be done anywhere and at any time. Stretching does not require any special equipment making it perfect for individuals no matter their fitness level or location.

Static stretching is stretching muscles while the body is at rest, which gradually lengthens a muscle. When done properly, static stretching allows the muscle to relax and stretch farther.
To do a static stretch, hold a stretch for a minimum of 15-30 seconds. NEVER BOUNCE. You should feel tension in the muscle, but never pain. If a stretch is painful, discontinue the stretch immediately.
Muscles should be warm when stretched. Do light activity before stretching, stretch after a warm shower and always stretch after activity. Stretching warm muscles increases the long term benefits associated with stretching. A good stretching routine does not require a lot of time. Just five minutes per day can make a difference. Some of the benefits:

•  Flexibility is the degree to which an individual muscle will lengthen. Lack of flexibility slows movements and makes them less fluid increasing your risk for injury. Stretching is the most effective way to increase flexibility.
• Stretching increases blood flow to muscles. Increased blood flow increases nourishment to the muscles and removes waste. Increased blood flow also helps to speed up recovery from injuries.
• Stretching helps improve cardiovascular health. Stretching can improve artery function and lower blood pressure.
• Stretching reduces muscle fatigue and soreness which occurs because your body flushes out the lactic and uric acids which are the product of your muscles, ligaments and tendons doing work to move your body.
• Increase Range of Motion: Stretching increases the length of both muscles and tendons. This leads to an increased range of movement, which means your limbs and joints can move further to decrease the likelihood of an injury.
• Enhance Coordination: Maintaining the full range of motion through your joints keeps you in better balance. This will keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls.
• Better Posture: Chronically tight muscles lead to poor posture, which can affect the function of other muscles, internal organs and your appearance.
• Increase Energy Level: Resulting from increased circulation.
• Stress Relief: Stretching helps relax tense muscles resulting from stress and the feeling of relaxation brings a sense of well-being and reduced tension.

What are Muscle Knots...

You know what it feels like, a good kind of pain when someone gets their fingers into it, a dull ache that cries out for attention, a sweet spot that once it's found doesn't want to be forgotten, that wants to be kneaded and pressed until it "don't ache no more" ...but what exactly is it?

Our muscles are made up of strands of fibres, and these fibres are made up of threads of proteins called sarcomeres. Sarcomeres are the smallest unit of skeletal muscle cells, a single muscle cell contains about 100 000 sarcomeres, (a muscle cell is smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair). The sarcomeres are responsible for the movement of muscle contraction. However the problem begins when they contact and then instead of relaxing they stay contracted. Not much is known about why this may happen, but some possible causes are injury, stress, emotional and physical fatigue, poor postural habits or working positions. Perhaps it is just that the balance of the body has been disrupted for some reason and this is one way the body lets you know it needs some attention.

When these sacromere contract the fibres won't loosen, and it is for the likening of this to a tangled piece of rope that we call it a knot. When the fibres tighten the blood flow is restricted, and nutrients and oxygen have a tougher time getting into the belly of the muscle, and the waste has a tough time getting out. This lack of lubrication causes the muscles to become dry and the fibres to become even more entangled, imagine a tangled piece of rope, knotted when in the sea, and then left out in the sun, it dries and is ingrained with salt. This further irritates the sensory nerve endings, which increases the contraction and so perpetuates this cycle.

Massage breaks the cycle and through pressure starts to separate the fibres and untangle the knot, thus allowing fluids to move in and waste to move out. Increasing the circulation increases the oxygen and nutrients to the muscle and helps with the untangling process, additionally the sarcomeres are manually stretched and encouraged to stop contracting.