We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Health

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Active Stretching?

By Shelby Miller
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 11,170
Share

Active stretching is an exercise technique intended to increase flexibility in a muscle by activating a reflex known as reciprocal inhibition. Reciprocal inhibition, in short, is the idea that when a muscle — the agonist — contracts, its opposing muscle, or antagonist, must relax in order to allow for that contraction. Contracting the quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh, for instance, requires relaxing the hamstrings on the back of the thigh. Therefore, if the goal is to encourage the hamstrings to relax to achieve a deeper stretch, then the technique of tensing the quadriceps while holding a hamstring stretch is employed.

This form of stretching is often recommended as a progression from passive stretching, in which a muscle stretch is held for 20-30 seconds while keeping all muscles involved relaxed. To stretch the hamstrings passively, for instance, one might lie on her back on the floor with her left leg extended and her right leg held straight up toward the ceiling and then pull her right leg down toward her using the force of her arms, keeping the leg relaxed. She would then follow that stretch with active stretching technique, in which she would repeat the same stretch but this time contract her quadriceps to assist in bringing her leg down toward her.

The idea behind active stretching is that as much as one tries to relax a muscle during a passive stretch, the muscle being stretched will necessarily contract in order to protect itself from lengthening to the point of injury. Responsible for this reflex is the muscle spindle, a sensory organ found in muscle fibers that perceives changes in the length of muscle as well as the rate of change in length taking place. When one puts a muscle into a passive stretch, muscle spindles signal the nervous system to react reflexively, placing forces upon the muscle that resist the stretch. In order to circumvent this mechanism, then, it is recommended to employ active stretching technique, which eliminates force on the antagonist muscle — in the above example the hamstring — by activating reciprocal inhibition.

Similar methods to active stretching include proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching and resistance stretching. PNF stretching requires a partner and involves contracting the tight muscle isometrically against resistance, such as the force of the partner’s hand, for 20-30 seconds, and then applying a static stretch to lengthen the muscle. Resistance stretching involves contracting the muscle being stretched eccentrically as it is brought from a shortened position to a lengthened position, and then repeating, never releasing tension on the muscle as it moves through space. There is no static holding involved in resistance stretching.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-active-stretching.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.