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Three-step stretching sequence

This is an excerpt from Facilitated Stretching 5th Edition With Online Video by Robert E. McAtee.

Facilitated stretching incorporates active motion and isometric effort to improve flexibility and enhance motor learning in the process. Simplified, the three steps involved in facilitated stretching are as follows:

1. The stretcher actively moves the limb to lengthen the target muscle (muscle to be stretched, antagonist) to its end range.
2. The stretcher isometrically contracts the target muscle for 6 seconds. The partner offers matching resistance and does not attempt to overcome the stretcher’s contraction.
3. After the isometric contraction, the stretcher actively moves the limb again to stretch the target muscle to a new range of motion.

For example, to stretch the hamstrings, the stretcher begins by contracting the hip flexors to actively move their leg to the starting position without assistance (figure 2.2a-c). They then isometrically contract their hamstrings for 6 seconds as the partner provides resistance (see the isometric push arrow in figure 2.2a). Finally, by contracting the hip flexors again to lift the leg higher, the stretcher actively stretches the hamstrings to a new length (see the active stretch arrow in figure 2.2c).

This three-step sequence of facilitated stretching has been developed over years of clinical practice. It was originally based on the premise that we were ­activating two neurological effects: reciprocal ­inhibition and postisometric relaxation.

As discussed in chapter 1, the current scientific consensus is that these effects may not consistently occur as previously believed. Unfortunately, we have no firm evidence of the physiological reasons why stretching is so much more effective using facilitated techniques. Research points to several hypotheses: an increased tolerance to stretch or changes in the viscoelastic properties of the stretched muscle (Chalmers 2002, 2004; Weppler and Magnusson 2010), or a more complex multifactor interaction that includes some inhibition from Golgi tendon organs, adaptation of the muscle spindle response to stretch, and increased stretch tolerance (Sheard and Paine 2010).

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