What happens when you stretch?

Relate and Review
When you stretch, you stretch certain fibers in your muscles. Proprioceptors perceive the movements of the muscles fibers  and relay that information to the central nervous system. Muscle spindles record how far a muscle stretches, which results in stretch reflex that causes muscles to contract. There is an initial response called the static component and the dynamic component that only occurs moments after the stretch begins. Holding a stretch longer helps with muscle lengthening which occurs after the muscle relaxes after initially contracting. Reciprocal inhibition is when a muscle contracts and antagonist muscle is forced to relax. These factors that go into how muscles relax and contract when stretching can be applied to different exercises and gives me a new perspective as to why it is important to stretch for longer periods of time before working out.


"The dynamic component of the stretch reflex (which can be very powerful) lasts for only a moment and is in response to the initial sudden increase in muscle length."
This response is something I felt in class when I was first doing the stretch with my leg. At first I did not think my leg could go any further because of this response, but it was only the initial response

"Another reason for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is to allow this lengthening reaction to occur, thus helping the stretched muscles to relax. It is easier to stretch, or lengthen, a muscle when it is not trying to contract."
After multiple times contracting and relaxing my leg when it was being stretched I could feel it begin to relax more and more. It also became easier to stretch because the initial contraction faded away. 

"You also want to relax any muscles used as synergists by the muscle you are trying to stretch. For example, when you stretch your calf, you want to contract the shin muscles (the antagonists of the calf) by flexing your foot."
This is an interesting idea that I never thought of before. By contracting certain muscles, other muscles relax and actually help you while stretching.  I wonder what synergists are in play in different types of stretches.