What Happens when you Stretch

"Another reason for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is to allow this lengthening reaction to occur, Thus helping the stretched muscle to relax"

I Chose this quote because I am always stretching after sports and before but woudnt hold it for a long time. Now I know that holding it for a long time helps the muscles actually relax and feel better.


"When you perform a sit-up, one would normally assume that the stomach muscles inhibit the contraction of the muscles in the lumbar, or lower, region of the back. In this particular instance however, the back muscles (spinal erectors) also contract. This is one reason why sit-ups are good for strengthening the back as well as the stomach."

This is interesting because I always want to work my back as well as my stomach and I do a lot of sit ups. This told me that now I am working on my back as well because of the spinal erectors contracting as well.

"Some sources suggest that with extensive training, the stretch reflex of certain muscles can be controlled so that there is little or no reflex contraction in response to a sudden stretch."

This is Interesting except that they said its only for extreme performers. It said that it could actually cause injury if used improperly.

Relate and Review:This reading was about what happens when the muscle is getting stretched. Stretching starts with a sacromere which is a basic unit of contractin and ends with lengthened fibers.Proprioceptors are the nerve endings that relay all the info about the muscularskeletal system to the nervous system. When muscles contract they produce tension at the point where muscles is connected to the tendon, where the golgi tendon organ is located.Reciprocal inhibiyion is when an agonist contracts in order to cause the desired notion. It usually forces it to relax. Overall this reading was about the contraction and relaxation and how stretching effects the body.