Stretching is a common physical activity among athletes, dancers, trainees, rehabilitation patients, and anybody involved in a fitness program. This form of exercise has numerous well-documented benefits and uses a variety of techniques to favor particular outcomes.
Physical therapy, on the other hand, refers to the broader aspect of therapeutic intervention used to restore an individual’s movement threatened by injury, disability, etc.
And while both interventions are known enhancers of range of motion, the controversy remains as to whether stretching is a physical therapy, and if they can be used interchangeably.
Human movement depends on the range of motion in the joints, which is controlled by three anatomical entities, namely synovial fluid, joints, and muscles.
Every joint in the human body is restrained by capsule ligaments and is limited to a particular congruence. For reflexive activation, the muscles provide both active and passive tension that enables movements.
But in the event of muscular tightness as a result of spasms or muscle contraction, a person may experience reduced joint range of motion.
And this could be caused by several factors, including disability, injuries, or genetics. And depending on the cause of a reduced range of motion, clinicians choose appropriate techniques or interventions to enhance flexibility, and that may include stretching or other broader aspects of physiotherapy.
But is stretching the same as physical therapy? Let’s find out.
What is stretching?
Stretching is a physical or body massage technique used to pull joints and muscles to an extremity away from its anatomically neutral position. This activity can be done with help from a person or assistive device (passive) or without (active).
Stretching generally focuses on lengthening the musculotendinous unit, essentially making the muscles supple and improving the range of motion in the joints, muscle strength, and flexibility.
It is often incorporated into disciplines such as yoga to help elongate shortened tissue and body joint structures to enhance flexibility.
What is physical therapy?
Also referred to as physiotherapy, physical therapy refers to techniques that are designed to preserve, enhance, or restore proper movement or the body’s overall physical function threatened or impaired by disability, injury, or medical condition.
Such techniques utilize therapeutic interventions such as assistive devices, massage, electrotherapy, and training.
Similarities between Stretching and physiotherapy
- Stretching and physical therapy are both useful for keeping muscles relaxed, tension-free, and nimble, and can help speed up recovery.
- Both interventions can increase blood flow and align the muscle fibers.
- Both stretching and physiotherapy can restore muscle balance, and range of motion, and enhance flexibility by reducing the risk of spasms, cramps, and the formation of muscular adhesion.
- Both interventions can manipulate ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue, thereby promoting muscle and joint health.
What is stretching good for?
Proper stretching techniques can:
- Improve circulation.
- Enhance flexibility and range of motion.
- Make it relatively easy to move and perform everyday tasks.
- Improve neuron health by balancing nerve pressure.
What is physiotherapy good for?
Physiotherapy has been broadly applied in our everyday lives to restore our body’s feel-good factor. Massage therapy, for instance, can reduce stress by minimizing the nervous system’s response to mental hyperactivity.
And while stretching focuses on relieving tightness and tension in the joints and muscles, proper physiotherapy techniques can:
- Relieve stress, anxiety, and fatigue.
- Reduce post-injury swelling and formation of scar tissue.
- Boost recovery and repair of strained muscles.
- Relieve joint and muscle stiffness.
Stretching techniques
If you are less flexible or have pain that is limiting your ability to undertake your everyday activities, you may benefit from stretching.
You can incorporate stretching into your exercise routines and regain flexibility, mobility, strength, and range of motion. Below are the different types of stretching recommended for your workout regimen.
Static stretching
Static stretching is easy to execute, is quite familiar, and can be done alone or with an assistive device. In static stretching, the body is at rest, and as a participant, your main goal is to stretch a group of muscles to their maximum capacity and hold the stretch for 30 to 50 seconds before releasing.
Static stretches are often conducted as a cool-down for post-workout or after long periods of immobility.
Dynamic stretching
Dynamic stretching requires an individual to mimic patterns of sport or intended exercise using continuous movements.
It is popular among athletes and sportspeople who seek to enhance flexibility and mobility. Athletes also use dynamic stretching to conserve energy and optimize performance during the main event.
Isometric stretching
Also called Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF), isometric stretching shares all the aspects of static stretching, except that the body at rest should be positioned isometrically.
Physicians recommend it for those looking to develop more flexibility, or as a post-injury therapeutic intervention.
Physical therapy techniques
Unlike stretching, a physiotherapist would usually perform a neuron assessment to determine the overall nerve and blood supply in the area. Practitioners also conduct an assessment of the muscle and joints to establish the risk involved with regard to the use of specific pain management techniques.
And it is from this determination that every individual may utilize one or a combination of the following physiotherapy techniques.
Strain-Counter-strain
This is a corrective technique that restores normal neuromuscular reflexes for individuals suffering from structural, pain or postural problems. This technique resets the body to its normal muscular tension.
Soft tissue mobilization
The role of soft tissue mobilization (STM) is to eliminate inelastic or fibrous tissue in the muscle resulting from spasms, sprains, or injury. The technique restores rhythmic muscle tone and flow of tissue fluids.
Joint mobilization
When an individual suffers restricted joint, they are often instructed to relieve the pain with ice, massage, or rest.
But that does not always work as the pain returns because of spasms in the surrounding tissue. Joint mobilization works to loosen up the restricted joints, thereby increasing their range of motion.
Final Thoughts On is Stretching the Same as Physical Therapy
Stretching, while often used interchangeably with therapy, is merely an aspect of physical exercise that athletes, dancers, and sportspeople incorporate into their workout routines to enhance range of motion, flexibility, and muscle strength.
Physical therapy, on the other hand, is best described in the lenses of healthcare and is used by practitioners and rehabilitation professionals to help patients recover their range of motion after a scare from injury, disease, or disability.
Therefore, when asking the question is stretching the same as physical therapy, the answer is no, it is not the same. They are considerably different.
Although, stretching can be a form of physical therapy, and indeed, a key component of recovery, physical therapy does not only include stretching. It can involve many treatments and activities.
