These 14 Stretches Will Help You Relieve From Pain

Many of us tend to stretch after a workout while doing yoga, or in order to wake up in the morning refreshed, but do you really know what muscles you’re working on? When we stretch the muscles, we actually extend their fibers helping muscles maintain flexibility, reducing pain, preventing injury and improving our mobility. The following exercises will allow you to understand which muscles you’re stretching during each exercise so that you know stretches to perform and enrich your knowledge of muscle function.

1. Forearm extensor stretch – stretching the forearm muscles (fig.1)

This stretch stretches the extensor muscle, which is the muscle that is colored red in the image.

How to do the stretch:

• Move your shoulder up and down, then reach your hand forward keeping it in line with your shoulder.

• Now place the opposite hand on the palm on which the stretch is being done apply moderate pressure.

• You can perform a more advanced stretch by looping your fingers while stretching.

2. Wide forward fold – stretching the thigh muscles (fig. 2)

This stretch extends the adductor muscles, which are located at the back of the thigh.

How to do the stretch:

• Begin the stretching with your knees bent and your spine straight.

• After a few seconds, you can slowly straighten your legs to the side, as shown in the picture, and roll your back and stretch your arms toward

• your feet as much as possible.

• If you can reach your feet, gently pull at the balls of your feet to extend the calf muscles as well.

• If you can’t reach your feet, use a belt or a towel.

• You can do the same stretch lying on your back with your feet up on the wall.

3. Neck extension – Stretching neck muscles (fig. 3

This stretch helps relieve neck pain or and release the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM), a pair of muscles found in the nape of the neck, whose main role is in turning the head opposite them and bending the neck forward.

How to do the stretch:

• Place your hands on your thighs, keeping an elongated spine.

• Tilt your head back very carefully until you feel a stretch.

4. Lateral side flexion of the neck – Stretching neck muscles (fig. 4)

This exercise also stretches the SCM and relieves neck pain.

How to do the stretch:

• Keep your neck straight and carefully tilt your ear towards your shoulder.

• You can perform a more advanced stretching by sitting on a chair while holding the lower part of the seat, which will help you create consistent stretching along the arm and neck.

5. Lateral shoulder stretch – Stretching the shoulder muscles (fig. 5)

This stretch extends the side deltoid, which envelops the shoulder and gives it its round shape.

How to do the stretch:

Stretch your hand toward the opposite side, as shown in the picture, and apply slight pressure with your palm resting on the elbow.

6. Half kneeling quad – stretching the muscles of the knee and thigh (fig. 6)

This stretch extends the quadriceps muscles, which are usually used during routine activities such as walking, running, jumping, getting up from a chair, and so on.

How to do the stretch:

• Start with a half-kneeling position, so that only one leg is bent forward and the other is stretched backward.

• Grab the back leg, as shown in the picture, and tighten your buttocks to increase the stretch on the hip flexors.