Microstretching

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage". This definition acknowledges that pain is not solely a physical sensation but an also involves emotional and cognitive components, such as distress or suffering.

With pain often triggered by tissue damage or threat of tissue damage, I have often questioned the place of discomfort and pain within the therapy realm. With the main objective of a therapist and treatment plan enhancing healing, while managing the existing pain, it behooves me that many therapist believe that pain, the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, is part of healing. Nothing is furthest from the truth!

As the founder of Stretch Therapy™ and microStretching®, and having suffered from chronic pain myself, my focus was on mitigating the effects of pain, especially chronic pain and inflammation. My observations over 4+ decades of therapy and research were instrumental in defining specific principles and procedures that have come to characterise Stretch Therapy™ and the practice of microStretching®. For more visit www.microStretching.com

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microStretching Manuals-Frontpages

What limits the ability to assess the effect of any physical stimulus or mechanical insult on the body is the observer (therapist) and their interpretation of the information both by the patient and the patient's body.

These manuals, which will be available soon, focus on teaching therapists (manuals 1 & 2) and coaches, fitness professionals, and athletes about microStretching, a revolutionary paradigm shift in thought about the concept of gentle low intensity stretching.

microStretching and Recovery

Recovery is the process of returning to a normal ( homeostatic) or new adapted/improved health and performance state (psychological, metabolic, neural) after fatigue caused by exercise. By accelerating this process, the athlete can train at the same or higher level of intensity, duration, frequency, and volume.

Being the founder of Stretch Therapy and microStretching, I have the pleasure of working with sports organizations and federations as well as elite, professional, and amateur athletes, both able bodied and Paralympians, internationally. I have seen how the use of low intensity stretching (microStretching) has benefitted athletes from DOMS and training, accelerating their recovery.

My research has been instrumental in bringing about a paradigm shift with the use of gentle stretching and its influence on inflammation. My PhD thesis was published as a textbook by Springer Nature that specifically looked at the importance of stretch intensity and inflammation [title: Stretch intensity and the Inflammatory Response, A Paradigm Shift].

In addition, low intensity stretching for recovery has been used to treat individuals suffering from known inflammatory conditions ( i.e., osteoarthriiis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia etc.) as well. Causing no pain and discomfort during treatment is key. Pain is associated with the activation of both the SNS and the dorsal branch of the vagus nerve, with chronic pain being associated with the perpetuation of the proinflammatory proteins responsible for the further activation of the inflammatory response.