Stretching Is Important for Everyone…Including Children!

Stretching is the deliberate lengthening of muscles in order to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion.  Stretching activities should be a part of any good exercise program.  They help warm the body up prior to activity, thus decreasing the risk of injury as well as muscle soreness.  Like adults, children need to stretch their bodies.  Especially during growth spurts, children’s and teens’ muscles may be tight.  Stretching works best when it becomes a part of a child’s regular routine.

Children should stretch when their muscles are warmed.  If they haven’t been exercising, they should always begin with a short warm-up such as five minutes of brisk walking, marching in place, dancing, arm swings and circles, or similar.  Stretching is most efficient when performed after a sports practice or extended play session, or any time your child’s muscles feel tense or tight.

Benefits of stretching include:

• Stretching helps children’s bodies recover after exercise.
• Stretching helps children’s bodies become and remain flexible (able to move joints and muscles in a full range of motion) as they grow into adulthood.
• Flexible bodies are more agile and perform better.
• Stretching reduces muscle tension and feels good!
• Stretching enhances coordination and better posture.
• Stretching can prevent injuries.

Proper Stretching Technique

It is essential to practice proper stretching techniques.  Doing so will allow you to avoid any unnecessary injury. Tips to proper stretching include the following:

• Warm up first – Stretching muscles when they’re cold increases your risk of pulled muscles.  Warm up by walking while gently pumping your arms, or do a favorite exercise at low intensity for five minutes.
• Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds – It takes time to lengthen tissues safely. Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds.  For most muscle groups, if you hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds, you’ll need to do each stretch only once.
• Don’t bounce – Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears in the muscle, which leaves scar tissue as the muscle heals. The scar tissue tightens the muscle even further, making you even less flexible and more prone to pain.
• Focus on a pain-free stretch – If you feel pain as you stretch, you’ve stretched too far.  Back off to the point where you don’t feel any pain, then hold the stretch.

• Relax and breathe freely – Don’t hold your breath while you’re stretching.

• Stretch both sides – Make sure your joint range of motion is as equal as possible on each side of your body
• Stretch before and after activity – Light stretching after your warm-up, followed by a more thorough stretching regimen after the workout, is best way to stretch.

Stretching Exercises for Children

These stretches prepares muscles and joints of smaller, immature bodies for bending, twists and jumping that the children can bring to any activity.  Stretched muscles and joints can prevent strains and sprains by providing for the full range of motions the kids may subject them to.

Kneeling Stretch – A simple yoga posture that can be used at the beginning or the end of the stretching workout. Instruct the child to kneel with the feet pressed together and the knees apart. Let him slowly bend over so that the forehead touches the floor. The hands can be positioned in two ways; either placed by the sides, extending towards legs with the palm facing up or fully stretched in the front, with the head between them and palms facing downward.

Cat’s Stretch – A useful stretch exercise for the kids to work on their spine and abdominal muscles.  Instruct the child be on his hands and knees with no tension in the back.  Eyes should be focused on the ground.  This stretching exercise starts by inhaling a breath, however, while doing it the spine muscles need to be relaxed.  It helps in letting the spine and belly down.  At the same time, the neck and head needs to be raised slowly.  When it is time to exhale, push the belly and spine up which makes the child’s posture look like a cat that is arching its back.  Instruct him to move the neck and head downward so that s/he is looking at his/her belly button, in this posture. This completes one cycle and 5 such cycles are enough for a child.

Stretch the Lower Back – As the name suggests, this stretch targets the muscles of the lower back, inner thigh and those on the back of the thighs (hamstrings).  Instruct the child to sit on the ground and assume the straddle position.  Stretch the legs in front and move them apart.  Place the palms on the ground in the middle of outstretched legs.  Let him bend over the left leg slowly and hold the stretch for 10-30 seconds or as long as he can.  Repeat the stretch by bending over the right leg and the hands placed in the middle of outstretched legs.  It is very important to recover from the bend slowly without causing jerky movements which can cause strains or sprains.

Stretch the Shoulder Blades – Here is a shoulder stretching exercise to work on the muscles in the arms and shoulders.  Instruct the child to stand with his arms stretched out and parallel to the ground.  The palms are to be kept facing backward and the thumbs pointing to the ground.  Slowly move the arms backward.  The movement of arms shouldn’t end at the shoulders rather it must extend to the shoulder blades. Tell him/her to do this exercise as if he is squeezing a ball between his/her shoulder blades.

Having your children develop a routine of exercise that includes stretching will hopefully keep them flexible and injury-free as they mature.  Have fun exercising and stretching!!

Dr. Doug

Dr. James Douglas Campbell, MD, FAAP, MHA, LLC, is a pediatric health professional who advises La Petit Academy on the needs of our program as a whole, and provides consultation and technical assistance on child health issues.

Dr. Campbell received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Florida and a Masters of Health Administration from the University of North Florida College of Health. He is Board Certified with the American Board of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has been taking care of children in Jacksonville, Florida since 1981.