Tight muscles = Weak muscles?
A lot of our clients often report a sensation of tightness and pain in their muscles. As such we are
frequently asked for stretches or whether massage or dry needling would help. However, Jay
McGuinness explains there could be a better long-term solution to help improve those “tight”
muscles.
While stretching might give a short-term benefit, it can sometimes prolong the underlying problem.
You end up stretching more often, and you’re still not feeling any better! And it ends up being a massive waste of time.
A recent study has found consistent, strong evidence that eccentric training can;
- Increase the length of our muscle fibres and
- Improve joint range of movement AND
- Improve muscle strength AND
- Reduce injury risk at the same time!
That is a massive bang for buck from one form of training.
Eccentric training is when you contract the muscle while it is getting longer. Examples of eccentric
exercises we can employ include Romanian deadlifts or Nordic Hamstring exercise for hamstrings,
Reverse Nordics for quadriceps and Dumbbell Flys for pecs.
Below are some tips for helping to treat “tight muscles”.
- Come and see us to assess your problem to see if there’s a joint or nerve driver causing your muscle problem. Often a lower back or sciatic nerve mobility problem can be to blame for a chronically tight hamstring and no amount of muscle stretching will help.
- Have a properly designed eccentric exercise prescribed. Eccentrics are hard work but extremely valuable if performed properly and safely within a broader training plan
- Perform your exercises. They work well when you do them.
- Avoid constant stretching and only use massage and acupuncture for short term benefits
If you suffer from “tight muscles” we’d love to help you find your weaknesses and develop a
program to strengthen them. Feel free to get in touch and achieve long term effects that will stop
those bothersome tight muscles
