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 Day 7 Puerto Rico

This is the final day in Puerto Rico before I fly home to Toronto, CAN. It has been a great time connecting with old friends and colleagues and making new friends!

I am very grateful to Prof. Victor Lopez for bringing me down to present a microStretching workshop (Level One-Lower body) to the Puerto Rican Sports Medicine Federation and the Puerto Rican Physical Therapy Association. I had a great time with the 10 selected therapists who attended the workshop. Always fascinated to see how they process and use the information given to them, for this allows me to be the student as well!

God Bless

microStretching in Puerto Rico Day 6

Todays walk was truly a mosaic of sorts. Took in the wondrous beauty of nature, but Puerto Rican culture as well!

God Bless

microStretching in Puerto Rico.

It's always great to have a morning walk with my dear friend . Great thought-provoking chats at 6 am.

microStretching and the Awareness Systems

As a microStretching therapist, we need to be conscious of the 3 propriceptor systems that function in the body. They allow us to integrate with our surroundings.

Interoception: sensitivity to stimuli inside the body, resulting from the response of specialized sensory cells called interoceptors . Features reflect emotional states (feelings, pain) and somatic states ( muscular, visceral, vasomotor)

Exteroception: the sensing of environmental stimuli originating from outside the body. This includes the 5 senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste)

Proprioception: the sense of body movement and position resulting from stimulation of proprioceptors located in the muscle tendons and joints.

These are influenced by the magnitude and rate of the stretch. If we stretch to the point of pain and discomfort, the body becomes aware of this adverse effect and responds accordingly in order to protect itself and try to limit the inflammatory response.

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.

New microStretching website home page

We are nearing the redesign of the new microStretching website. Apologies for the delay. A heartfelt thank you goes out to two amazing designers and friends, Costa Gaitanos (UK) and Silvan Van Breukelen (NDL). This project has truly been an international collaboration. The goal with this website was to make it not only a resource of microStretching but, more importantly, an interactive experience.

Once finished, I will let everyone know. Thank you again for your patience!

GOD BLESS,

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.

MucroStetching - The Therapist and the Patient

The relationship between the microStretching therapist and the patient is one of mutual. This bond is important for allowing the patient to get to know their body better. It provides them with the sensation that forms a new perspective, a process that helps them to discover who and what they are. To learn to measure their response to many of their physical and emotional symptoms associated with their pain.

MicroStretching and the Body

A fundamental concept within microStretching is that we are all a self-regulating organism. As a microStretching therapist, we are aware of this potential and therefore assist the patient's body to find its balance by being very gentle during treatment.