The 30-second article
• Nerves are not elastic and do not respond well to static stretching , or to compression
• Be aware that you are not only stretching one muscle when you give a stretch
• The nervous system is a continuous system throughout the body , so your body posture , head , foot or hand position can actually make your nerves more irritable within a given stretch
• Muscle , nerves , veins , arteries , fascia and connective tissues , joint capsules , and ligaments may increase tension and reduce range of motion within a stretch
• A simple change in posture can help reduce risk of neural tension during clients ’ training sessions .
more like a tight piece of thick string that , if stretched under static load , will become irritated . Do not push through the hamstring stretch if you feel a pull in the calf muscle . In addition , they do not respond well to compression . So if you think that using a foam roller to apply super hard pressure to your sciatic nerve will help to ease pain , think again ! Rather than being put under prolonged stretch tension or directly compressed , nerves need a pathway free of pressure to travel through the body and ensure we are pain-free and functioning optimally .
Getting on clients ’ nerves
Clients with irritated nerves may vocalise a feeling of having ants crawling up their skin , water moving on their skin , or an increased awareness of a particular part of the body . They may report tingling or pins and needles in a particular area , or a localised numb feeling or loss of sensation . As symptoms worsen , they may report a shooting or electrical pain , hot pain , or stabbing pain that is very sharp in quality . A physiotherapist can do a specific neural assessment that may also reveal additional nerve symptoms , such as loss of reflexes or overactive reflexes , or reduced strength and control within a certain group of muscles that correlate to a particular level of neural compromise .
If your client has these severe symptoms , they must be referred onto a health professional for further diagnosis of the origin of their pain before continuing with their exercise program .
PT ’ s Top Tips for optimal nerve function
1 The first thing to remember , when you instruct a client to stretch , is that you are increasing the tension , pull or static stretch on every structure that limits movement at a particular joint in a particular direction ( i . e . hip joint flexion ). The structures responsible for increasing tension and reducing range of motion within a stretch could be muscle , nerves , veins , arteries , fascia and connective tissues , joint capsules , ligaments and so on . Be aware that you are not only stretching one muscle when you give a stretch .
2 Secondly , all of us are made differently , with unique tissue extensibilities and genetic makeup , and , therefore , we will all feel a stretch differently . There is no advantage in doing a hamstring stretch when the problem limiting an increase in range of motion is pins and needles in the foot and no stretch in the hamstring . Always ask your client where they are feeling a stretch and what the stretch feels like to them . This may shed some light on whether they are feeling the muscle stretch correctly .
3 Third , bear in mind that the nervous system is a continuous system throughout the body . Therefore , your body posture , head position , foot position or hand position can actually make your nerves become more irritable within a given stretch . It is important to take note of the posture of your client when they feel any nerve symptoms , and to make sure you avoid this body posture within a given exercise session . For example , a client may say they get tingling in their hands when they do a pec stretch at 90 degrees of abduction . But it may be the fact that their head is turned away or laterally flexed from the shoulder they are stretching , which increases neural tension in the median nerve in the upper body , resulting in the tingling sensation in the hand . Returning the head to a more neutral position , and making sure there is a slight bend in the elbows , may be enough to decrease the pull on the nerves . Be aware of the whole body posture when performing stretches .
10 common mistakes that may increase neural tension
The following behaviours during a workout may increase neural tension , so familiarise yourself with the solutions and educate your clients about how a simple change in posture can help reduce this risk .
1 Cervical flexion , i . e . looking at the floor when performing exercises ( cervical plexus tension ) Solution : Keep neck in neutral forward looking position
2 Pulling the scapula / shoulder girdle down and back excessively when doing upper body exercises ( cervical plexus tension ) Solution : Perform correct backward tilting of the scapula without excessive depression of the scapula during upper body exercises .
3 Sitting on a hand to perform a neck stretch and / or pulling the neck with the other hand ( cervical plexus tension ) Solution : Very gentle movements of the cervical spine , don ’ t hold a stretch longer than 5 seconds for the cervical spine and never sit on the hand to pull down the shoulder or pull the head in the opposite direction .
4 Tilting the head away from an arm when you are stretching ( cervical plexus tension ) Solution : Keep head looking straight forwards or towards the hand / arm you are stretching to reduce neural tension . Relax the opposite arm by your side .
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