Many athletic individuals praise the virtues of stretching repeatedly. They stretch before, during and after exercises. Sometimes they will stretch for relaxation purposes or out of pure desire. Unfortunately, this obsession with stretching is not good. Like all things in life, stretching works best in moderation.
Yoga and other modern trends place an emphasis on flexibility as an indicator of health. This symbiotic nature many believe exists is actually false. An over stretched muscle will be flexible but also weaker. Stretching decreases the overlapping of the parallel fibers in a muscle. The less overlapping that occurs the weaker that muscle becomes. Joints connected to that muscle take the strain from this weakened muscle.
These over-stressed joints are now causing the overly flexible person pain. In the past, this type of pain recedes with stretching. The result is more weakening of the muscle and less cushioning for the joint.
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