The importance of stretching can never be over-emphasized. Whether you are a serious athlete, or you exercise to keep fit, you should be aware of the need to stretch to keep injuries at bay and to maintain your body flexibility.
Stretching, at its fundamental, is the process of elongating the muscles. Before absorbing the finer nuances of stretching, it is important to understand the two qualities of muscle fibre-elasticity and plasticity.
Elasticity is the ability of the muscle and its connective tissue components to stretch and then rapidly return to the pre-stretched length, which is what happens when you perform any kind of athletic task like throwing a ball, or jumping.
Plasticity is the ability of the muscle and its connective tissue components to adapt over time to stretching exercises and get longer than their original, pre-stretched length. Static stretches, where a stretch is done slowly and the muscle is held in the stretched state for some time, enhances plasticity. A good stretching protocol works on both elasticity and plasticity.
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