Ep. 164: The Science of Stretch
Guest: Dr. Helene Langevin, Harvard Medical School and Brigham Women’s Hospital
Okay, stretch and hold and hold and hold.
What happens when you stretch? What exactly are you stretching? Is it your muscle or is it your connective tissue?
Connective tissue or fascia – as it is also known as – is what holds us together. It is a net that suspends your organs: a high-tech adhesive that holds your cells in place while relaying messages between them.
The network is so extensive and ubiquitous that if you were to lose every organ, muscle, bone, nerve and blood vessel, your body would still retain its shape.
So what happens when you don’t stretch and when you do stretch, how long should it be?
These questions lead to a decades-long research project into acupuncture and stretch.
It started when our guest Dr. Helene Langevin of the Harvard Medical School, Brigham Women’s Hospital questioned why acupuncture needles grab. What are they grasping and how long should the treatment last?
