Muscle shortening often occurs as a result of long-term, one-sided postures or movements. For example, muscle shortening can be caused by too little exercise and sitting in the office for long periods of time every day, but also by one-sided sporting strain without regular stretching. The muscles of the front and back of the thighs, the back muscles and the chest muscles are particularly often affected.
Leg- thigh front/quadriceps
The stretching exercises can be done every day and should be held for about 60 seconds on each side. 1) Exercises: Standing stretch 2) Stretch in kneeling position 3) Stretch on the knees
- Execution: Standing, one hand supports itself on the wall, the other hand grasps the ankle of the leg to be stretched and pulls the foot as close as possible to the buttocks, keeping the knees parallel
- Variation: the same exercise can also be performed in prone position
- Starting position: Knee position, first both knees stand parallel on a pad
- Execution: one foot is placed forward on the support so that there is an angle of about 90° in both the knee joint and the ankle joint, the back knee remains on the support, the back knee is bent and the hand on the same side is around the ankle of the back leg, the hips are pushed forward and the ankle of the back leg is pulled towards the buttocks until a feeling of stretching occurs
- Starting position: knee position, the lower legs and the back of the foot rest on the pad
- Execution: Lean so far back that you can put your hands behind you, also try to put your elbows on the pad, make sure you don’t get a “hollow back” and tense your buttocks.
Leg- thigh back/hamstring
1) Stretching in supine position 2) The inverted “V”.
- Starting position: Supine position on a pad, one leg remains on the pad, the other leg is stretched vertically in the air and the tip of the foot is pulled up
- Execution: both hands grasp the thigh of the leg stretched in the air and pull it stretched towards the chest until a feeling of stretching occurs, the upper body can be placed on the pad or is held in the air, depending on the stretched state of the leg
- Starting position: four-footed stand on a surface, hands and lower legs touching the floor
- Execution: the knees are stretched and the buttocks are pushed far out towards the ceiling, the heels are lowered towards the floor and the shoulders and arms are at the same level as the entire back, a feeling of stretching should be felt in the back of the thighs and in the calves
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