Stretching summary

Physical therapy

﻿Hello there. My name is Sophie Brazier, I'm a children's physiotherapist. Thank you for joining me today for our lesson. So we are in unit four and this is less than 14, and that means it's the last lesson in this unit on stretching. So what we're going to do today is have a little look at a summary about stretching. And we'll go through a few slides where we'll look at a recap of what stretching is, why it is important, some tips for stretching, and then we will finish with an activity and it's going to be kind of a whole body stretch. And you might've heard this stretch before, if you've done some yoga or you've heard about yoga and it is called a downward facing dog. So, I find that this can just be a really good body stretch and don't worry there will be some options of how to simplify the stretch. And also a little bit of a challenge if you'd like to take it a bit further. So you just need yourself today for the stretch. And if you do need any help, then maybe you need to ask a parent or carer before we start. So, if you wanted to get yourself ready and then we can get going. I would just like to give you a little message from our team. We as therapists have tried to think of the best way to continue to support children, young people and their families. So you may be watching this as a child by yourself, or you might be with a parent or carer. We will be exploring topic areas that we regularly provide advice and support on across all ages and abilities. And each lesson we will aim to give you some ideas and activities that can be carried out either at home or in school. You may already have specific programmes that you're using or advice that has been given to you by your child's school or therapist. So please make sure that you're using any information I'm giving you alongside anything you already have. And if you do have any questions or would like help tailoring this to their needs, then please make sure you get in contact with your local therapy service. So for this summary on stretching. I think we'll just go back to the beginning of the unit and we'll look on a bit of a recap on what is stretching. So, stretching is moving your body parts into position that will lengthen or elongate the muscles and soft tissues. So it can be used as part of a warm up or cool down in exercise. So you might do this already, or you might have heard other people talk about it. And you can just do some stretches on their own. So today we will show you another stretch that you can do just by yourself and you don't have to do it with other stretches or before you exercise, but sometimes stretches can just be done by themselves, which can be really nice. And there are many different ways to perform a stretch. So over the unit on stretching, you would have seen that there's lots of different areas of the body you can stretch and lots of different ways to stretch. And there's also different types of stretching. So I've gone through them in previous lessons. And if you want to read more about them, then you can do that. But there isn't just one type of stretch. There are many different types of stretches and different ways to stretch. So let's just recap about the benefits of stretching because we've talked lots about stretching. So let's just remind ourselves about what the benefits are. So increased blood flow. So if you've got an injury to the area or you've got some pain, then having that fresh blood to the area to really, bring some oxygen to the muscles can be really good. And it can help with pain and stiffness. So if you're feeling a bit achy and you've been sat in one position, it can really help with relieving some of that stiffness. It can improve joint stability because if you've got good length of your muscles and also in combination with strength, then you can have some good joint stability around the area and it can help prevent pain and injury. When it helps with pain and stiffness, this can relieve tension, so increased range of movement. So, some people may have a stretching programme that they're using in combination with other things they've been given by their therapist. And if you're doing these regularly, then that can contribute to an increased range of movement. But some of the stretches I've given you today are just to relieve a bit of stiffness and a bit of tension, so you're not looking to gain a lot of range of movement from just doing them a little bit. But if you were to do them more often and as part of a programme, then you might be looking to increase the range of movement. And let's just go over why is stretching important? So remember that it's an instinctive action. Just think about when you woke up this morning and did you take a big stretch and have you yawned recently? And did you stretch when you yawned? So that just shows you that stretching is quite automatic. So it's already part of our day. And spending time in static postures can lead to tight muscles and stiffness. So stretching can really help relieve some of this tension. And regular stretching can just become part of your daily routine. And please remember to think about your breathing when you're stretching as this can really help calm your mind as well. So remember to take that big breath in through your nose and big breath out through your mouth, and almost that breath out, you can be really vocal with it and really loud. So that is actually you releasing that tension. And it can really help calm you. So the activity I'd like you to try now, and that's I'm going to demonstrate is called a downward facing dog. So you're going to start on your hands and knees. And then what you'll see I do is I'm going to tuck my toes under and lift up my hips. And you're going to start with a bent knee if you need it, and I definitely need it when I start, because I definitely can't go into the full stretch. And your hands are going to be flat on the floor. And the way I like to remember is, it's almost like you're pushing the floor away. So really activate your hands and you'll get a good stretch down your arms. And you're going to push your hips up to the ceiling to create a long line with your body, and you want to draw your tummy in. So you're really creating a nice line with your back and you'll feel a stretch in the top of your back and in your shoulders and in your legs. So it is really a whole body stretch. And the last point there, is the most important. Remember to breathe because in that stretch, it is quite a workout and it is a stretch at the same time, but it also can be quite calming, but make sure you're using a breath to really feel the effects of your breathing. So here, I'm starting off in a four point position. And then I'm pushing back onto my feet and I'm getting a good stretch down my back there. So you see I'm pushing my palms into the floor and I'm pushing my hips up to the sky. And I am getting a nice alignment in my back. And then I'm coming back down. So I'm just showing you again, so I'm untucking my toes and I'm tucking them again and I'm pushing my hips up and I'm getting a nice line with my back. And I'm really pushing away the mat with my hands. And that will create a really nice stretch down your shoulders, down your upper back and into your hamstrings. And you'll see here that I can't get my legs all the way straight, but that doesn't matter. And then here, I'm taking it a bit further and I'm doing something called a three legged dog. So this is an extension of the stretch where I am slightly testing my balance and I'm using some more muscles and I'm getting a bit of a bigger stretch. So you can try the downward facing dog if you'd like with the three legged stretch. So you can also come into a child's pose that I'm showing you here now. So you've been shown this before in the unit, and it's just a nice stretch and a simplified version where you'll get a whole body stretch. So you can try that one as well. So now I'd like you to pause the video and have a go at that stretch. If you rejoin me afterwards, I'll talk you through some of the ways to extend and simplify as I demonstrated in the video. So let's just think about that activity a little bit more. How did you find it? If it's the first time you did it I can imagine it was quite tough. I find that stretch really challenging to begin with. And once you've settled into it and done it a few times, it can really, really help you. And the more you do it, the easier it gets. So, was it too much on your arms? If it was try going down onto your elbows and don't take your legs all the way up, just keep your knees bent and you'll still feel a good stretch. Or go into the child's pace I demonstrated. But if you do want to further challenge, then you can try the same position, but then you lift one leg and it's called a three legged dog. So that was where I was demonstrating when I lifted one leg up into the air and then tried it on the other side. So what I really want you to be thinking about is your alignment and your back position. So, remember in unit one, we looked at posture and this stretch can also really help with your posture because it really gets you thinking about your alignment and your back position. So a good way to keep this aligned and to think your alignment in this position is to try and push evenly through your hands. So really activate those hands and it will really help distribute the weight in your body. So have a little think about those things. If you pause the video now you can go and try these options. And then if you rejoin me afterwards, we'll finish up with the unit. How did you find the downward facing dog? I love that exercise. And I just think it can really help even with your posture and just your alignment. And so it's a really good whole body stretch. So well done if you gave it a try and I hope the options were there for you, if you needed them. So we have now finished the lesson. And also that is now the end of the unit on stretching. So if you've joined me for all 14 lessons, then good for you, and I hope you found something useful and you've taken away some ideas or some stretches if you needed them. So all that leads me to say now is please take care of yourself, have a great rest of your day. And I hope to see you soon, goodbye.

Stretching summary

Stretching summary

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