Passive Stretches for Lower Back, Leg Adductors, Abductors, Hip Flexors and Extensors.

The Night My Leg Woke Me Up.   

Stretching is necessary. I stretch every day. I stretch between my appointments. I have favourite places in the office building, like doorways, walls, tables, and counter tops that I like to use for stretching.  I have a few favourite stretches that I teach  every day.

The above pictures, with kind hearted furry support, demonstrate the passive stretches for hip adductors (only one leg up on the chair at a time) and lower back (both legs up on the chair). These stretches should be held for a starting time of ten minutes but can be held longer.

Not long ago I woke up at 3am with an ache in my leg. I calculated that I had been sleeping very still with one leg curled up for far too many nights in a row and had created a shortening of a few muscles that had now decided to let me know that they needed a good stretch right now. 

First I grabbed the laundry hamper and brought it into bed with me and proceeded to do passive stretches for all four sides of the leg. The abductors, adductors, quads., hams., and the hip flexors. I was so tired and wanting to still sleep. I think I did fall back to sleep between some of the stretches. 

The last picture of the  model on the clinic massage table shows the hip flexors being stretched passively. When I put myself into this position  with my leg kicked back and the top leg on a supporting  pillow to prevent body from rolling forward and with my back positioned  straight with shoulders  open and not curled in, just before I fell back to sleep while in this position I felt the deep psoas muscle inside my abdominal area actually pop as it released. 

You might recognize this last stretch as a modified runners stretch. I  hook my toe on the edge of the mattress and felt the stretch in the top of the leg. 



The Truth About Muscles.
1.Muscles do not like to be cold.

2.Muscles do not like to be in a shortened position for an extended period of time. 

3. Muscles need care in proper nutrition (magnesium) and hydration (water) and proper action followed by stretch that will return the full length back to the muscle.


Be Healthy. Stay Healthy. Massage and Stretch.
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