When it comes to the human body, there are certain muscles that are not stretched at all. These are the so-called “supporting muscles” which are responsible for keeping the body upright and stable. However, there are other muscles that are always stretched, these are the so-called “stretch muscles”.

Muscle stretching is an important part of any exercise routine. It helps to prevent injuries, increases flexibility and improves performance. But what I want to discuss here is how many exercises encompass stretching in the human body?

The answer is simple; it is none. Because we don’t need to stretch our supporting muscles during our normal day-to-day activities. We need to stretch only those muscles that are tight or in a state of disuse. And to do that we need to do some special exercises.

Let us have a look at some of the most common supporting muscles:

Hip flexors:

These are the muscles that flex the thigh at the hip joint. They include the muscles on the front of the thighs such as the iliopsoas, the rectus femoris and the sartorius. Tight hip flexors can cause lower back pain, hip and groin injuries and poor posture.

Hamstrings:

These are the muscles at the back of the thigh that bend the knee joint. They include the muscles on the back of the thighs such as the vastus lateralis, the long head of the biceps femoris and the semimembranosus. Tight hamstrings can cause lower back pain, heel spurs and poor posture.

Gluteal muscles:

These are the muscles that extend the hip joint. They include the muscles on the buttocks such as the gluteus maximus and the medius. Tight gluteal muscles can cause lower back pain, hip and groin injuries and poor posture.

The list goes on and on, but these are the most common supporting muscles.

Now let us have a look at some of the most common stretch muscles:

Stretching exercises help to lengthen these muscles and make them more pliable. This increases muscle flexibility and improves performance.

Here are some examples of common stretch muscles:

Chest:

This is the largest muscle group in the body. It includes the pectoralis major, the pectorals, the deltoids, the triceps and the intercostals. Stretching the chest increases shoulder and arm mobility and improves posture.

Back:

This is the second largest muscle group in the body. It includes the latissimus dorsi, the trapezius, the rhomboids, the erector spinae and the quadratus lumborum. Stretching the back increases spinal mobility and relieves tension.

Shoulders:

This is the smallest muscle group in the body. It includes the deltoids, the teres major, the supraspinatus, the infraspinatus and the subscapularis. Stretching the shoulders increases shoulder mobility and improves posture.

Conclusion:

As you can see, there are certain muscles that are not stretched at all during our normal day-to-day activities. And we need to stretch only those muscles that are tight or in a state of disuse. To do that we need to do some special exercises. Let us discuss this in detail in an upcoming post.