When I told my 12-year-old daughter – a keen gymnast – that I was about to spend an hour getting professionally stretched, she looked at me in horror. “Stretching is the worst,” she said. “It’s going to be so painful.” Needless to say, I felt more than a tad apprehensive about it.
Afterwards, I hardly recognised my body. The knots I thought had taken up permanent residence in my shoulders had eased, and I walked out feeling like I’d had a really good cry, a massage, and a gentle workout all in one. So what is assisted stretching? As its name implies, it’s about stretching – but like you’ve never done before. Most of the session is done lying down while your therapist guides you into positions and helps you hold them.Lane also uses a technique known as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation , which involves stretching a client and then asking them to “resist” that position by pushing against her hand. That deepens the stretch while activating the antagonist muscle.
The most obvious benefit of assisted stretching is its impact on flexibility and mobility. Lane says that when you stretch, you’re creating “tiny micro-tears in the muscle”. That sounds ominous, but it’s actually positive.“In the same way that when you have a facial you stimulate the collagen, micro-tears stimulate the muscles to repair, and that creates a longer and a stronger muscle,” says Lane.