Athletes are at risk of having muscular injuries due to the amount of time spent training the body. Sometimes these pains can be hard to deal with because you are not sure if it is just tightness or an actual injury. Mentally this can be fatiguing for any athlete. If you are tight and looking for a way to get loose, the couch stretch is a great starting point.
Sometimes the solution can point in the direction of surgery, missing time, and painkillers before ever working on stretching daily. In this article, we will be discussing with you reasons you don’t have to panic as an athlete whenever you encounter lower body tightness.
We will also discuss couch stretch as a suitable remedy to whatever muscular pain you are feeling at the moment.
What Is Couch Stretch?
As the name implies, the couch stretch is a stretch that is designed to be performed against a couch (although this is not usually the case). It is a stretch that is done with the aim of lengthening the quadriceps muscles and the hip flexor muscles. By lengthening them, it can reduce any form of tight feeling you have in those muscles.
Why Is The Couch Stretch Important?
Muscle tightness creates a lot of problems because the entire body is connected. One tight area will cause problems in many other places. Some of those issues include:
- Poor posture
- Back problems
- Limitation in your range of movements
- It increases your risk of injury while performing physical activities
- It could result in a situation where you are unable to get your body into a correct position to perform some physical activities
- Your power output is decreased.
The couch stretch is important because you to avoid all these undesirable effects as easily as possible. You want to ensure that your body is fit and you are feeling good when it is time to perform. This is one of the best lower body stretches to ensure this.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Tight Muscles?
Here are the things you can notice in your body when your muscles become tight and they could be an indication for you to start practicing couch stretch:
- Muscle pain
- Swollen muscle
- Muscle redness
- Weakness in muscles
- Muscle spasms
- Sore to touch muscles
How To Perform A Couch Stretch?
Here are the important steps to note if you want to perform an effective couch stretch. It is important for you to know that the stretch could be a bit intense therefore, you should take it easy at the beginning.
- Get a flat bench. This is more preferable to a wall because it allows you to have a deeper stretch in your quadriceps muscles and your hip flexors.
- Come down on your knees and place the top of your foot very flat against the top of the bench.
- Make sure that your knee is in a straight line with the front edge of this bench.
- Inhale deeply, then place your hands on the front edge of the bench and press down on it with your front foot.
- While exhaling, press your knee into the ground and push your hip forward.
- Inhale again and place your hands on the bench with your knuckles facing the front.
- Exhale, push your hands firmly into the bench and pull your shoulders back.
The stretch can be held for as long as 30 to 60 seconds.
What To Do If Couch Stretch Is Not Working?
If you realize that you have tried couch stretch and it doesn’t appear to provide relief from the muscle tightness you feel, you need to work with a sports medicine professional. 9INE POINT Health can help to link you up with the best local providers.
You can search for providers by type or skill. Let’s say you want to work with a massage therapist that also knows Fascial Stretch Therapy, 9INE POINTHealth will show you the best local options so you can compare 9INE POINTNumbers.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.
