Tightness in the legs and hips creates extra demand on your knees. The more tension across the knee joint, the more wear and tear it receives. I’ve been dealing with some pain in my right knee for a while and it’s directly related to the tightness in my right leg. I’ve started addressing it and these are the resistance stretches I’m using to get the release I’m looking for!
What Makes Resistance Stretches Different?
Why am I using resistance stretches instead of static stretches? Resistance stretches require the muscles to contract as they lengthen. This is an eccentric contraction. They are highly effective at building strength at the end range of motion. It also helps keep joints safe, since the muscles are contracted during the stretch, the joint is supported.
In static stretches, the goal is to get the muscles to relax and largely turn off. If you spend a lot of time stretching and get good at turning off muscles, you can actually start to stretch ligaments! That’s not good for the long-term health of your joints.
Also, from personal experience, I’ve found resistance stretching to improve mobility very quickly. Notice I said mobility and not flexibility! Since we’re building strength at the same time we’re improving range of motion we get to use the new range of motion. The benefits of static stretching often disappear a few hours after stretching.
So… these are the five resistance stretches I’m using to get the muscles in my right leg to release and take the tension off my knee joint. You should also do some work on your lower legs and feet, but I’ve talked about that a bunch recently so check out this video if you want to know more about that.
Give it a try for 30 days and see how you feel! Hope the stretches help!
