Research-Supported Stretching Protocols
Andrew Huberman, Ph.D.,
is a neuroscientist and tenured Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.
Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. He also works on neural regeneration and directs a clinical trial to promote visual restoration in diseases that cause blindness. Huberman is also actively involved in developing tools now in use by the elite military in the U.S. and Canada, athletes, and technology industries to optimize performance in high stress environments, enhance neural plasticity, mitigate stress, and optimize sleep.
Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science, and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.
In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab Podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the Top 25 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.
SYNOPSYS
“In this episode, I explain the science behind limb range of motion and flexibility and how to increase them by using science-supported protocols. Flexibility is crucial for physical movements and can help prevent injuries, decrease inflammation, modulate physical and mental pain, impact exercise recovery speed and even potentially slow the progression of certain diseases. I explain the biology of flexibility, including the specific neural mechanisms that sense stretch and load (i.e., tension) on the muscles and limbs, as well as how specific brain regions like the insula combine those signals to ultimately control limb range of movement. I also provide science-based stretching and “micro-stretching” protocols that reliably improve limb flexibility with the minimum necessary time investment. I review all the details of those stretching protocols: how often to do them, for how long, their timing relative to other exercises, sets, the time between sets, measuring progress and more. All people, physically active or not, should benefit from the information and tools described in this episode.” - Abdrew Huberman, Ph.D.
ARTICLES
Force enhancement after stretch of isolated myofibrils is increased by sarcomere length non-uniformities (Scientific Reports)
Microfluidic perfusion shows intersarcomere dynamics within single skeletal muscle myofibrils (Biophysics and Computational Biology)
The Effect of Time and Frequency of Static Stretching on Flexibility of the Hamstring Muscles (Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal)
The Relation Between Stretching Typology and Stretching Duration: The Effects on Range of Motion (International Journal of Sports Medicine)
A Comparison of Two Stretching Modalities on Lower-Limb Range of Motion Measurements in Recreational Dancers (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research)
Stretching Reduces Tumor Growth in a Mouse Breast Cancer Model (Scientific Reports)
Insular Cortex Mediates Increased Pain Tolerance in Yoga Practitioners (Cerebral Cortex)