Sports Performance Stretching in Fort Worth
Assisted Stretching, PNF, Pin & Stretch and Nerve Gliding for Better Movement
Stretching at HADL Clinical Bodywork isn't a one-size-fits-all routine.
Our Sports Performance Stretching in Fort Worth combines multiple techniques based on what feels tight, how you move and what you're trying to accomplish.
Rather than simply holding your leg in a stretch for 30 seconds, a session may incorporate passive stretching, active stretching, PNF stretching, pin and stretch techniques, nerve gliding and targeted mobility work.
The goal isn't simply to become more flexible.
The goal is to help you move better.
What Is Sports Performance Stretching?
Sports Performance Stretching is targeted bodywork designed to improve usable mobility and address restrictions that may interfere with movement, training or athletic performance.
Different restrictions require different approaches.
That's why we don't perform the exact same stretching routine on every client.
During your session, your therapist may move between several techniques depending on how your body responds.
Passive Stretching
Passive stretching allows you to relax while your therapist moves a muscle or joint through an appropriate range of motion.
Because the therapist controls and stabilizes the movement, you don't have to simultaneously balance, position yourself and try to relax the muscle you're stretching.
This allows us to adjust the angle and position of the stretch based on the specific muscle or movement we're targeting.
Passive stretching may be used for areas such as the:
Hamstrings
Quadriceps
Hip flexors
Glutes
Calves
Chest
Shoulders
Lats
The goal isn't to force the joint as far as possible.
It's to gradually work within an appropriate range of motion.
Active Stretching
Active stretching requires you to participate in the movement.
Instead of the therapist doing all of the work, you actively move your body into or through a specific range of motion.
This is important because flexibility on a treatment table doesn't necessarily mean you can actively control that same range.
For athletes, that distinction matters.
Your sport requires you to control movement, not simply demonstrate that someone else can move your leg into a position.
Active stretching allows us to incorporate that control into the session.
PNF Stretching
Contract, Relax and Move
PNF stretching combines stretching with muscular contractions.
Instead of simply pulling a muscle into a stretch and holding it there, your therapist may position the muscle and then ask you to gently contract against resistance.
After the contraction, you relax and the therapist reassesses the available range.
One common variation is known as contract-relax stretching.
For example, during a hamstring stretch, your therapist may bring your leg toward its current comfortable limit.
You'll then gently contract the hamstrings against resistance.
After relaxing, we'll reassess the movement and continue within your available range.
PNF gives us another option when traditional passive stretching alone isn't producing the response we're looking for.
Pin and Stretch
Combining Pressure With Movement
Sometimes simply pulling on a muscle isn't the approach we want.
With pin and stretch, the therapist applies targeted pressure to a specific area of muscle while that muscle is moved through a controlled range.
Instead of the entire muscle simply lengthening during a traditional stretch, we're combining localized pressure with movement.
For example, a therapist may maintain pressure over a tight area of the quadriceps while the knee moves through flexion and extension.
The same concept can be applied to other muscular areas depending on what we're treating.
Pin and stretch can be particularly useful when you can identify a specific area that feels tight or restricted during movement.
Nerve Gliding
Not Every Feeling of "Tightness" Is Just a Tight Muscle
Sometimes repeatedly stretching a muscle harder isn't the answer.
Nerves also need to move relative to the tissues surrounding them as your body changes position.
Nerve gliding, sometimes called nerve flossing or neural mobilization, uses controlled movements designed to move neural structures through their available pathway without treating them like a muscle that simply needs to be stretched harder.
Depending on the area we're addressing, nerve-gliding techniques may involve the arms, legs, neck, spine or combinations of joint movements.
For example, certain movements of the hip, knee and ankle can change tension along neural structures traveling through the back of the leg.
Likewise, changing the position of the neck, shoulder, elbow and wrist affects neural structures traveling into the arm and hand.
The movements are controlled and intentionally different from aggressive stretching.
The goal of nerve gliding is movement—not forcing a nerve into a stronger stretch.
Persistent numbness, weakness, significant radiating pain or other neurological symptoms should be appropriately medically evaluated rather than simply treated as muscular tightness.
Why We Combine Stretching Techniques
There isn't one "best" stretching technique.
A muscle may respond well to passive stretching in one position but need active movement in another.
A specific tight area may benefit from pin and stretch.
Another restriction may respond better to PNF.
And sometimes what feels like a stubborn muscle restriction means we need to consider whether neural mobility is part of the movement pattern.
That's why our sessions can incorporate:
Passive Stretching
Active Stretching
PNF Stretching
Pin and Stretch
Nerve Gliding
Mobility Work
We're not committed to one technique.
We're committed to figuring out which approach makes the most sense for the movement we're trying to improve.
Sports Performance Stretching in Fort Worth
Our approach goes beyond simply putting you on a table and pulling on your legs.
At HADL Clinical Bodywork, Sports Performance Stretching combines multiple forms of assisted and active bodywork to address mobility from different angles.
Whether you're a runner, weightlifter, golfer, cyclist, field athlete or simply someone who constantly feels tight, the session can be adapted around your movement and goals.
You don't necessarily need to stretch harder. You may need to stretch differently.
Book Sports Performance Stretching in Fort Worth
Experience a more targeted approach to flexibility and mobility with passive stretching, active stretching, PNF, pin and stretch and nerve gliding.
Book your Sports Performance Stretching session at HADL Clinical Bodywork in Fort Worth.