Kristian Berg - Prescriptive Stretching

PRESCRIPTIVE STRETCHING

SECOND EDITION

KRISTIAN BERG

HUMAN KINETICS

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Berg, Kristian, 1964- author.

Title: Prescriptive stretching / Kristian Berg.

Description: Second edition. | Champaign : Human Kinetics, [2020] | This book is a revised edition of Stora Stretchboken, published in 1994 by Fitnessfrlaget -- T.p. verso. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019025614 (print) | LCCN 2019025615 (ebook) | ISBN 9781492587392 (paperback) | ISBN 9781492587415 (epub) | ISBN 9781492587408 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Stretching exercises. | Exercise--Physiological aspects. | Physical fitness.

Classification: LCC RA781.63 .B47 2020 (print) | LCC RA781.63 (ebook) | DDC 613.7/182--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025614

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025615

ISBN: 978-1-4925-8739-2 (print)

Copyright 2020, 2011 by Kristian Berg

All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Notwithstanding the above notice, permission to reproduce the following material is granted to persons and agencies who have purchased this work: p. 174.

This publication is written and published to provide accurate and authoritative information relevant to the subject matter presented. It is published and sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, medical, or other professional services by reason of their authorship or publication of this work. If medical or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

This book is a revised edition of Stora Stretchboken , published in 1994 by Fitnessfrlaget.

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PEOPLE CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO CATEGORIESTHOSE WHO HAVE BACK PAIN AND THOSE WHO WILL GET BACK PAIN.

The fact that people all over the world have mailed, emailed, and even called me to say that they followed the instructions, never gave up, and are now free of their long-lasting pain makes me think that maybejust maybeI can say with some certainty that there is a third category of people: Those who will never have back pain again.

During my years as a naprapath treating neuromusculo-skeletal conditions, the same question from patients pops up time after time: Is it really necessary to stretch? Do I have to? The answer is neither yes nor no. Have to? Well, do you have to brush your teeth? No, not really, but most of us are fairly aware of the consequences if we dont. Sadly enough, we do not see the consequences of neglecting to stretch and take care of our bodies until we are reminded by pain in all kinds of places.

We may not even realize then that the pain is connected to our behavior. Until now, our bodies have not required maintenance, so why is the pain starting now? Would we have been as surprised by a cavity if we hadnt brushed our teeth for the past six months? You save up for pain. The body does not forget what you have been up to the last 20 years.

So, do we need to stretch? I believe that stretching and exercise are part of the bodys daily maintenance. It should be no different than the habit of brushing our teeth.

Stretching in one form or another has been habitually practiced by man and animal alike. Consider a cat or a dog that is waking up. They stretch their shoulder and hip muscles before starting any activity. Is it possible that we have lost this animal instinct as our lives have demanded less and less activity from us? Although this might be true, the instinct is still there. When we yawn in the morning, we tend to stretch our arms up and out and to bend our backs.

The last 10 years of my time as a gymnast were a real pain. My back constantly ached. I even got to experience throwing my back out before that career was over. As a gymnast, and a flexible one at that, I really thought I was an authority on muscles and flexibility. Later, during my studies to become a naprapath, I found out about muscles I never even knew existed.

However, even during my student years, my back continued to hurt. Regardless of the treatment, the pain only improved marginally. After a while, I started to feel some improvement from consistently stretching a particular muscle. I made up my mind that the muscle on the other side of my body should be just as soft and flexible. I started to see results. Nowadays, my back never bothers me. If I start to feel pain after training or negligence, I just stretch the same muscle that I stretched before. When I am done, the pain is gone. In retrospect, I sometimes wonder how I would have performed as a gymnast if I knew then what I know now. The health of a single muscle made a world of difference.

This is the experience that I try to pass on to my patients. Every patient gets one exercise to do at home. I can easily tell who has done the homework and who has forgotten to do it. By working together, we quickly reach the desired results of less pain and increased mobility.

Stretching books and magazines are often filled with miracle stretches. Sadly enough, they do not address the real reason why we need to stretch. The exercises in the articles are often wrong or dangerous, and the instructions for performing them are often incomplete, hard to follow, or nonexistent.

This book is a tool, and like all other tools, it should be handled carefully. Read it through and study the pictures thoroughly. The exercises work, but only if you do them correctly. The new partner stretches in this edition of the book are especially powerful tools, and I really want to emphasize how important it is for both the person being stretched and the partner to read