This stretch is found in the book “Stretch to Win” by Ann & Chris Frederick on page 128. It targets the large extrinsic muscles & fascia around the low back & sacrum as well as the smaller intrinsics called the rotatores & multifidi.

It is recommended that you do the previous 4 stretches posted here (the “Core 4″) before you do this stretch if your low back is particularly tight, stiff or sore.

To get the best results, we recommend never to hold your stretches but rather keep slowly moving by exhaling on the stretch & inhaling on the release.

Happy stretching!

Please go to this link to view the stretch: Low back stretch

After working with key starters of the Cardinals every season since since 1997, Ann & I are so proud of them clinching the NFC West Division title & for getting off to a great playoff start beating the Falcons yesterday!!!

Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Antrel Rolle & Tim Hightower all made TDs & are all clients of Stretch to Win. We are committed to working with them any day, any hour to speed post-game recovery & to keep them optimal as they progress through the playoffs.

Everyone around here thinks it will be Cardinals vs Eagles for the Championship. That will be interesting for us since we have been to the Super Bowl & Championships with the Eagles in the past. Oh well…that’s football!

We want to congratulate 5 of our clients for all the hard work, sweat and blood that will take them to the Pro Bowl in 2009! Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Sean Morey have all demonstrated to the fans why they deserve this honor & 2 more clients of ours–Darnell Dockett (Pro Bowler 2008) & Karlos Dansby–were named alternates.

Each week starters of the AZ Cardinals come to see us to get stretched, massaged, joints manipulated, electrolytes & supplement formulas administered by IV so that they recover faster & maintain an optimal level of performance.

Good luck to the Cardinals in the play-offs!!

Ann “Stretch Lady” Frederick tells us what makes her clients -

Anquan Boldin, Adrian Wilson & Antrell Rolle of the AZ Cardinals - great athletes at this link:

Stretch Lady speaks on it

Play the video below to see a short clip with Chris right after the Cardinals won the NFC West Division Title:

AZ Cardinals Win the NFC West Division Title!

[Please see video #1 Introduction in previous post before viewing this & all other videos]

Stretch program #3 was the Glutes & from that stretch we transition to the quadratus lumborum (or QL) & the lattissimus dorsi (or Latt). This stretch is found in the book “Stretch to Win” by Ann & Chris Frederick on page 126.

The QL is a short, square muscle that connects to the last 2 ribs & to the crest of the pelvis. It is often an undiscovered source of low back pain & is many times also responsible for a shortened leg if tight & contracted.

The Latts are the only shoulder muscle that attaches to your back & is often ignored in low back rehab despite its anatomical importance. Including it in stretches for the hip & back provide the link to the upper body that is crucial for a complete Core 4 program of stretches.

Please go to this link to view the stretch: Video #4 QL & Latt stretch

Na'il Diggs linebacker Carolina Panthers

[Please see video #1 Introduction in previous post before viewing this & all other videos]

People who sit all day–commuting & at work–get tight hip flexors. In a layperson’s nutshell, tight hip flexors reciprocally inhibit optimal function of the glutes. When the glutes are inhibited then the hamstrings functionally act as secondary glutes thereby eventually resulting in chronic hamstring strain and tightness.

The piriformis & the 5 deep external rotators of the hip are forced to take on the extra workload of the hip & become super tight from strain & scar tissue formation. This scenario can lead to back pain, hip pain, knee pain &/or foot/ankle pain.

Stretching the gluteus medius, piriformis & hip rotators optimally requires you to move along multiple angles as they are anatomically shaped like a fan & the bones of the hip are shaped like a ball & socket universal joint.

Please go to this link to view the stretch: Video #3 Glute stretch

This is the first two in a series of video programs that we have & will produce exclusively for our readers.

These videos are in a beta test format–informal, raw, honest–so please send us your feedback so that we can improve on what YOU want. After this post, the videos will be coming out every Sunday starting November 23rd with video #3 “The Glutes”.

For those who have purchased our book, Stretch to Win, we will provide you videos that will follow the photo programs that are in our book. Finally you or your clients will now have videos to make sure that you are doing the stretch programs in our book correctly!

If you have not purchased our book, you will have no problem following the video programs but check out the book link at www.StretchToWin.com if you want to have the details that will not be covered in the videos.

IMPORTANT: Before viewing the videos take note that they are for information purposes only & are not intended to instruct you. Therefore by viewing these and forthcoming videos you are agreeing that if you perform any of the movements you are doing so at your own risk & you take full responsibility for your actions. Consequently, we assume absolutely no responsibility or liability for your actions resulting in pain or injury of any kind. If you do not agree with this waiver of liability then do not perform the movements depicted in this blog or on video. Thanks.

The videos are a little too long to post here so please go to these links to view them & enjoy:

Video #1 Introduction

Video #2 Hip flexors

We had the honor to have NASCAR vet Bobby Labonte grace our clinic last week to get stretched before qualifying to race tomorrow at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).

This was our first NASCAR “athlete” coming in to see if Fascial Stretch Therapy or FST could help his “game”. Since we had no clues, Bobby explained to us what kind of conditions he faces among which are more than 115 degree temps in the car for 4 hours and body water loss of an average of 7 lbs after a race!!

He said that many racers, himself included lose a tremendous amount of electrolytes resulting in a visible salt layer displayed on his racing suit. This is a big problem with racers and causes muscle cramps if the right electrolyte delivery system is not put into place. Bobby has an electric pump in his car that automatically supplies him with a pre-determined amount of electroytes right into his mouth during the race!

What we learned from the assisted stretch session is that race car drivers have a nervous system similar to cornerbacks in football–high in the “fast twitch” category–and a challenge for the practitioner to accurately and effectively manipulate the myofascia if you do not have years of experience “conditioning” the nervous system.

Nervous System Conditioning™ is a term that I have come up with that describes the preparation necessary for the Central & Peripheral Nervous System before assisted stretching commences. In the near future I will write a post on this if there is interest from readers.

Anyway Bobby said that he got a lot of benefits from his assisted stretch session and advice on electrolytes and we wish him the best of luck at the races!!

Kids, teens and adults going back to school or work at a desk sooner or later will feel the effects of trigger points (abbreviation: TPs) silently & perniciously developing in the muscles of their neck & back. Many have had the unfortunate experience of waking up, unable to turn their head to one side because of excruciating pain.

Doctors tell you that it will last 7-14 days no matter what you try - medications, ice, chiropractic, physical therapy or massage. What you CAN do though is prevent this from happening & also eliminate chronic aches & pains & headaches.

First you need to get a tool & for the neck, it has to be small enough to get to those muscles. Tools like The Stick, Theracane, Trigger Point Technologies, and others are necessary to get complete relief. Here’s an example: imagine that you tie a knot in a bungee cord then you stretch both ends out & away from each other. Let’s say the knotted bungee represents a muscle with a TP.

When you try to stretch a muscle with an active TP in it you are straining the ends because the middle doesn’t share in the movement. This can result in micro-tears at the ends or tendons possibly causing tendinitis. The solution is to add compression to the TP to reduce the knot, force feed oxygen into it then stretch it out to get normal elasticity & flexibility back in the muscle & fascia.

The current discussion is about the neck & one of my favorite TP tools is the Theracane. It has been around forever, my clients love it & it has a 5 star rating at Amazon.com. You can order it from them at this link: Theracane.

If you don’t order the Theracane, at least grab a tennis ball & use it as a tool to start applying pressure to & rolling on the trigger points that you can find in your neck & shoulder. After you do this then try this stretch program that is inspired from my Qigong/taiji teacher, Dr. Chan: Qiging Neck Series 1.

Try this everyday for 2 weeks & you will experience relaxation, decreased tension, & more flexibility in your neck & shoulders. Enjoy & please send me your comments!

Ann and I recently returned to teaching our workshops after almost a year hiatus & we had an overwhelming response to a very special video that we displayed to the class. “The Integral Anatomy Series” is the name of the video but I first want to tell you about the actor/producer of the series, Gil Hedley.

We first met Gil at the First Fascial Research Congress held last fall at Harvard Medical School when we took his conference workshop. It immediately became clear within the first few minutes of his presentation that “we like this guy & he speaks our language!”

Gil is obsessed with taking anatomical journeys though the body’s fascia & is, in our opinion, one of the premier dissection anatomists and human anatomy teachers of our time. He coined the term, somanaut, and approaches full body dissections with the spirit of a Lewis & Clark expedition.

While taking a workshop with Gil is undoubtedly the best way to experience his unique talents as a somanautic trail leader, the next best thing is to sit down and immerse yourself in his DVD virtual anatomical dissection workshop.

I’ve done the research for you & the least expensive way to get the series of 3 (or singley) without paying for shipping is at these links. Just make sure that you choose “FREE Super Saver Shipping” after you choose your DVDs:

Vol 1 The Integral Anatomy Series, Vol. 1: Skin and Superficial Fascia

Vol 2 The Integral Anatomy Series, Vol. 2: Deep Fascia and Muscle

Vol 3 The Integral Anatomy Series, Vol. 3: Cranial and Visceral Fasciae

Gil Hedley, PhD, Rolfer