Now that we know how stretching can actually make you tighter long term…. What about other common things like stretching that wont fix your tightness?

1) Massage, Graston, ROLFing, Theragun

Massage does an excellent job of getting your body and your muscles to relax. By increasing your body’s parasympathetic tones, massages can alleviate both physical and mental stresses. However, if you look more closely at what massage actually does to your tissues, there can be some negative consequences.

Deep, sustained pressure from a massage makes the muscles to relax. But like stretching, this produces an inhibitory response at that muscle, which is why it relaxes. If the muscle is too relaxed, it is not able to contract as well, producing less force, and leading to direct instability at that muscle or nearby joints.

Tool assisted massage, ROLFing, and any type of Theragun work through similar mechanisms. Although they may feel good directly afterwards, these techniques can lead to injury or decreased performance after using repeatedly.

2) Foam Rolling

Foam rolling or rolling on a lacrosse ball is used by athletes and healthcare professionals everywhere. Mostly used as a warm up, the theory behind foam rolling is to stimulate blood flow to the muscles, work out any muscular trigger points or scar tissue, and loosen up your tissues.

The research clearly indicates that any type of foam rolling does not work out scar tissue. The amount of force applied to the fascia through a roller or ball is inadequate to produce any structural changes in it. So what happens to the knots you’re trying to roll out? Like the massage, the deep pressure produces a neurological response to that tissue you’re rolling on, getting that knot to relax. Like the other techniques, this inhibitory response reduces the ability for that muscle or tendon to contract, making you workout at a disadvantage afterwards. Furthermore, the foam rolling is doing nothing to fix why your have the knots to begin with, leading to repeatedly using a roller with no true purpose.

3) Chiropractic Manipulations

Popping your joints feels good, whether you do it yourself or go to a chiropractor. When a joint is popped, the joint surfaces quickly separate, releasing gas and producing the “pop” sound. Chemicals are released at that joint, which directly affect the surrounding muscles or ligaments of that joint. The chemicals make these tissues to relax, allowing for greater motion at these joints, or feeling “looser”.

There are two main issues with repeatedly manipulating joints. The first issue is the act of popping the joint. Generally, the joint is taken to its end range by a force outside the body. For example, if you’re popping a knuckle, you use one finger to push another finger to its end range, and applying a force to pop the knuckle. The other finger applying the force is more than that joint can produce on it’s own, stretching the ligaments and tendons of that joint. Habitually doing this will crate an unstable joint.

The second issue are the chemicals released at the joint after the pop. These chemicals increase your parasympathetic tone, similar to the massage, allowing the body to relax. But similar to the massage, these chemicals create an inhibition response at the muscles, continuing to make an unstable joint.

4) Bracing / Orthotics

A majority of people look for a brace when they are initially hurt. Whether it’s a knee or back, these braces provide you with a sense of stability, often making your pain a better initially. However, this sensation does not persist, as the pain slowly returns.

The problem with braces and orthotics are what make them initially helpful. Since they provide stability to the joint, the body then does not have to. The muscles that support the joint get smaller and weaker. The ligaments lose their tautness. The tendons become loose and fibrotic. When you then attempt to perform any activity without the brace, the pain becomes worse than it was initially. Now you have a dependence on the brace, as your body is now reliant on it.

You can view the brace as a band aid for your pain. It helps hide the symptoms, but does nothing to fix why you got the pain or tightness to begin with.

To highlight, massage, foam rolling, chiropractic, and bracing are not fixes for your pain or tightness. Routinely doing any of the above creates an unstable joint. The human body is driven on creating stability. If a joint become unstable from any of the above, the joint or supporting structures tighten up to then protect it from any further damage or injury. Doing any of the above occasionally will have no dire consequences, but making a habit of them will make the body perform sub-optimally.