FAQ
Q: How long should I hold a stretch? A: "Over the past few decades many experts have advocated that stretching should last up to 60 seconds. For years, this prolonged static stretching technique was the gold standard. However, prolonged static stretching actually decreases the blood flow within the tissue creating localized ischemia and lactic acid buildup. This can potentially cause irritation or injury of local muscular, tendinous, lymphatic, as well as neural tissues, similar to the effects and consequences of trauma and overuse syndromes."
"The Mattes Method of Active Isolated Stretching is an effective treatment for deep and superficial fascial release, restoring proper fascial planes for optimal physiologic function. Performing an Active Isolated Stretch of no longer than 2.0 seconds allows the target muscles to optimally lengthen without triggering the protective stretch reflex and subsequent reciprocal antagonistic muscle contraction as the isolated muscle achieves a state of relaxation. These stretches provide maximum benefit and can be accomplished without opposing tension or resulting trauma." Aaron L. Mattes, MS, RKT, LMT
Q: How often should I stretch?
A: You should do about 20-30 minutes of AIS stretching & strengthening pretty much daily to maintain and slightly improve. You can move quickly through your routine (1 set of 5), spending more time on those areas that are tight (2-3 sets of 10). As you progress and your muscle strength and muscle balance improve, you will spend more of that time strengthening. You can do additional stretching & strengthening to progress more rapidly or to resolve specific problems. Because AIS stretching is gentle and brings in fresh blood while it pushes out metabolic wastes, you can do it several times a day vs. strengthening, which requires more time between sessions to allow for recovery. An experienced AIS practitioner can help you get started right.
A: Yes. Muscles have an optimal temperature for metabolizing nutrients and working vigorously and AIS brings them up to that temperature by pushing the body's own warm, oxygen-rich blood into the tissue. If the body is properly warmed up, the body's cardiovascular system is able to better oxyginate the muscles decreasing the rate at which fatique or lactic acid will set in. It also warms the fascia and increases the range of motion for the joints. This combination reduces the chance of injury and enhances performance because you aren't fighting your own body to move and you are more economical in your movements. 20 minutes is usually enough and all you need is a rope or strap.
Individual research projects and the news articles that follow need to be considered in a broader context. While no research has yet shown that pre-event stretching is beneficial, there has never been a valid study of AIS. A recent UNLV study on "certain" (static) stretching found AIS of no benefit, but the study had participants hold the AIS stretch for 6 to 8 seconds. The correct way to do AIS stretching is to identify & isolate the target muscle, use the opposing muscle to perform an active, rhythmic stretch for 1-1/2 to 2 seconds as the breath is released, and repeat up to 10 times. Holding longer can trigger the protective stretch reflex and pushes blood and oxygen out of the tissue. AIS' long movements combined with the brief assist push blood and oxygen into the tight tissue. It's a lot like holding a sponge in a bucket of water and repeatedly squeezing it vs. squeezing for 30 seconds to two minutes. Repeating brief stretches produces significantly more fluid exchange.
A: Yes. See the comments above on stretching before an event. Be gentle and reduce the number of reps. Additional benefits are:
1. After an event your muscles are warm and can be stretched more easily, restoring your range of motion.
2. The significant fluid exchange caused by AIS stretching pushes in fresh, nutrient rich blood and stimulates lymphatic drainage, which removes lactic acid and other metabolic wastes.
3. You'll recover more quickly.
Q: How do Yoga and AIS compare?
A: Yoga is an extremely popular form of exercise that blends meditation and relaxation. Most forms combine static stretching (working with gravity) with breathing and clearing the mind. Blood and oxygen are pushed out of the tissue by the extended static stretch. Change comes slowly through daily practice. Active Isolated Stretching combines similar breathing with active stretches (working against gravity) with a few ounces of assistance that are held for no more than 2 seconds and then repeated in sets of 10. The repetitions through the full available range of motion pump blood and oxygen into the tight tissue and stimulate lymphatic drainage. With AIS change come rapidly, often producing improvements of 30 to 50 degrees in range of motion for joints in a few minutes.
Q: What conditions can AIS cure?
A: AIS does not cure anything. Done properly, Active Isolated Stretching can produce profound changes in your posture and health by supporting your body's own innate healing process. AIS practitioners don't impose change, they help you help yourself.
Conditions that typically benefit from AIS include: Knee, Hip, Back, Neck, and other joint pain, RSIs like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Stress, Whiplash, Migraines, Stiffness, 'Normal' Aging, Dowager's Hump, Sciatica, Tinnitus, Tendonitis, and Plantarfascitis. The common theme is a myofascial restriction resulting in a loss of range of motion, a reduction of oxygen and nutrients reaching the tight tissue, and possibly impinging nerves. The body has an amazing ability to compensate and we learn to ignore the pain, allowing the condition to worsen over time. The nerve endings are pulled and starved for oxygen. To correct the problem the therapist needs to restore the normal ROM to the joints and free up impingements, reeducating the nervous system in the process so it can easily and effectively use the renewed flexibility, and strengthen the weak, inhibited muscles to restore postural balance.
There are no guarantees. Nothing in healthcare is 100% successful, but AIS is gentle, non-invasive, has no negative side effects, and is a good starting point. Most people experience great results very quickly using the Mattes Method of Active Isolated Stretching. If it doesn't produce the results you want, you can progress to other, more traditional and more invasive approaches.
A: Yes.
“Stretching is a very important part of golf not only to prevent injuries but also to improve the power exerted in golf. Golf [like all racket and club sports] is a power sport, which means the greater the amount of strength or power you can exert with the golf club to the ball, the greater the velocity the ball will travel with or farther you can hit the ball. Power = the amount of strength you can exert over a given range of motion divided by time. What this means is: if you can take the strength you already have and use it through a greater range of motion, this will allow you to achieve a greater power potential."
“Most golfers who are known as ‘long ball hitters’ are able to achieve greater motion on their back swing and range of motion in the hips and torso region to achieve greater power on the active swing motion. So flexibility is an integral part of golf. Increasing your flexibility will also help to prevent injury on the deceleration phase of the swing. If the muscles are more flexible, when the shoulders, arms and torso have to decelerate the swing, there will be decreased chance of injury.” Aaron L. Mattes, MS, RKT, LMT
Q: Can AIS help with Sore Feet, Plantarfascitis, Hammertoes, High or Low Arches, Bunions, etc?
A: Yes. The common theme in these conditions is a myofascial restriction resulting in a loss of range of motion, a reduction of oxygen and nutrients reaching the tight tissue, and possibly impinging nerves. Remove the excess tension, restore the alignment and normal physiologic range of motion of the joints, and strengthen the muscles so thay can support and maintain the joints and the pain goes away. We do this non-invasively with AIS stretching & strengthening. There are no lost work days or risks of infections or scar tissue formation. Treatment is fast, usually taking only one to three visit. You are trained to maintain yourself through self-stretching and strengthening in the future.
Why not just wear an orthotic? An orthotic is a crutch, a temporary way to stabilize an area, like a cast for a broken arm or a sling for a shoulder injury. If it is the answer, why don't people continue to wear neck, wrist, knee, etc. braces forever after an injury? It's a bandage that addresses only the symptoms and begs the issue, ignoring the underlying problem. And it's never as effective as correcting the underlying problem.
Can AIS help circulation? Can it help people with peripheral circulatory disorders?
A: AIS Stretching & Strengthening dramatically increase circulation. The long movements combined with the brief hold push blood and oxygen into the tight tissue. It's a lot like holding a sponge in a bucket of water and repeatedly squeezing it vs. squeezing for 30 seconds to two minutes (as in static stretching). Repeating brief, active stretches produces significantly more fluid exchange. This is true on both the macro and micro levels. On the macro level, fresh, nutrient-rich blood is drawn into the muscles as the depleted blood move out through the veins. Lymphatic drainage is stimulated, which is important because it removes the larger debis that can't fit through the walls of the veins. On the micro level, this fluid exchange simultaneously occurs on the cellular level, improving cellular nutrition and supporting the body's constant rebuilding process.
AIS can help improve both circulation and nerve conduction for people with diabetes and other peripheral circulatory disorders. The Chinese call the Soleus muscle in the calf the "Second Heart" because when it when it works its actions (along with the one way valves in the veins) help move deoxygenated blood back to the heart and lungs. The action of the soleus also stimulates lymphatic drainage from the lower leg and foot, reducing edema. AIS stretching can release myofascial restrictions that impede nerve conduction and help restore spacing between joints, including the feet, hands, and vertebrae.