I just finished reading the Mobility Explained article and definitely learned a lot from it. There is just one thing that sticks out to me that doesn’t seem to match the trend of the article. In the quote from the below review…
The most recent review by Freitas, Can chronic stretching change the muscle-tendon mechanical properties? A review, found:
*“Stretching interventions with 3- to 8-week duration do not seem to change either the muscle or the tendon properties, although it increases the extensibility and tolerance to a greater tensile force. Adaptations to chronic stretching protocols shorter than 8 weeks seem to mostly occur at a sensory level.”*13
“it increases the extensibility and tolerance to a greater tensile force”
To me, this sounds like stretching allows the muscle to take a greater load, whether that means it’s stronger or more resistant to injury. This seems to go against the conclusion of the article.
Tolerance here refers to the test subject’s tolerance not the muscle. The stretch is limited by the test subject’s pain threshold. Stretching appears to increase the length of the stretch where the pain threshold is reached without any evidence of a mechanical change in the muscle/tendon.
“If the increases in muscle extensibility observed after stretching were due to an increase in length of the muscles caused by any of these mechanical explanations, there should have been a lasting right shift in passive torque/angle curves (Fig. 1). Instead, the only change observed in passive torque/angle curves was an increase in end-range joint angles and applied torque (Fig. 2).15,25,58,59 Because the endpoint of these stretches was subject sensation (pain onset,15,25,26,58 maximum stretch,59 or maximum pain tolerated15), the only observable explanation for these results was that subjects’ perception of the selected sensation occurred later in stretch application.”