The signs seemed to be proliferating around Los Angeles \u2014 along Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, in mini-malls on Pacific Coast Highway, on side streets in Glendale and Venice: StretchLab, Stretch Zone, StretchSPOT, StretchMed. <\/p>\n
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Deborah Vankin\u2019s 50-minute stretch session included 13 stretches on either side of her body.<\/p>\n
(Luke Johnson \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been curious about assisted stretching for a while. But I never thought to visit a studio. Sure, \u201crecovery\u201d is a growing trend in fitness \u2014 meaning rejuvenating muscles, tendons and the central nervous system between exercise sessions by focusing on hydration, proper nutrition, sleep and, yes, active stretching so as to maximize athletic performance. But I own three foam rollers \u2014 one smooth, one spiky, one padded \u2014 and even use them at home. I\u2019m also far from an extreme athlete, preferring instead brisk hikes<\/a> for cardio and basic strength training. <\/a><\/p>\n Why would I drive to a mini-mall and pay someone to stretch me? What would that even look like \u2014 and was it worth it?<\/p>\n The questions rumbled in my head as I drove past yet another StretchLab recently \u2014 this one on Beverly Boulevard near Hollywood. So I called them up.<\/p>\n StretchLab has 15 locations in the L.A. area, including in Echo Park.<\/p>\n (Luke Johnson \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Turns out StretchLab<\/a>, which opened its first studio in Venice in 2015, now has more than 500 studios nationwide, 15 of them in the L.A. area. Its clientele are generally either serious athletes, older adults and desk workers who struggle with stiffness<\/a> and want to work on their mobility, or those healing injuries and other conditions. They come to be stretched out more deeply, in positions they couldn\u2019t possibly get into, physically, on their own. Many of them appreciate the intimacy and accountability of working with a practitioner, one-on-one. And it can be helpful to have a professional, with a trained eye, isolate asymmetries in their bodies and guide their stretching, especially for those who suffer from chronic pain or are healing an injury, says StretchLab\u2018s director of marketing, Gabi Khowploum.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see a lot of people who say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m having back pain,\u2019\u201d Khowploum says. \u201cAnd they come to stretch it, but it might be they\u2019re having issues with hip mobility \u2014 they just don\u2019t realize it.\u201d<\/p>\n Stretch therapists \u2014 or \u201cflexologists,\u201d as they\u2019re sometimes called \u2014 are not doctors. Chiropractors, physical therapists and some massage therapists are trained in assisted stretching \u2014 but stretch therapists can\u2019t do what they do. Stretch therapists don\u2019t diagnose and treat injuries; they don\u2019t provide spinal or joint manipulation, imaging such as X-rays or CT scans or massage<\/a>. They focus, instead, on stretching muscles and fascia to increase flexibility and mobility. There also isn\u2019t a national certification for stretch therapists, as there is for physical therapists and chiropractors, though most stretch therapists are certified in-house by their respective employers. <\/p>\n Dr. Jeremy Swisher<\/a>, a sports medicine physician at UCLA Health, says assisted stretching can help increase range of motion and flexibility, stimulate blood flow, which aids healing, and help with posture, particularly for sedentary populations, as well as alleviate stress. Done consistently, long term, it can help with pain relief and stiffness and \u2014 possibly \u2014 prevent injuries. But it\u2019s \u201cnot a cure-all,\u201d he warns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a piece of the puzzle,\u201d he says. \u201cStrength training <\/a>and other forms of exercise are equally as important, long term.\u201d Swisher also warns that assisted stretching could exacerbate existing injuries \u201clike an acute sprain or tear without being cleared by a doctor first.\u201d And for those with hypermobility syndromes, meaning overly flexible joints, \u201cit\u2019s important to be mindful that increased stretching could lead to dislocations of the joints.\u201d<\/p>\n On a recent Friday afternoon, StretchLab in Echo Park was busier than I would have expected. Several clients laid on their backs on what looked like massage tables as their flexologists rolled or twisted or pressed on their body parts \u2014 a limb over the shoulder here, a spinal twist there.<\/p>\n Flexologist Joel Badilla walks Deborah Vankin through the MAPS assessment process.<\/p>\n (Luke Johnson \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n My practitioner, Joel Badilla, walked me through the assessment before my 50-minute session (as a \u201cdrop in,\u201d it cost me $125, but prices differ depending on the package and location). StretchLab uses a 3-D body scanning tool called MAPS, which TRX Training developed for them. It assesses mobility (range of motion), activation (quality of movement), posture and symmetry so as to isolate areas that are tight or imbalanced and customize a stretch program for the client. I did three overhead squats in front of an iPad before MAPS gave me a score in each area. (Scores far lower than I would have liked, the culprits being tight hips and \u201ctech neck,\u201d but such is the case with desk workers, I was told.)<\/p>\n Then I laid down on the table and Badilla lifted my legs and gently pulled them forward, toward him. It felt wonderful, as if my spine were elongating, all the stress draining from my back. He then put me through 26 stretches, 13 on each side of my body. <\/p>\n Joel Badilla tugs gently on Deborah Vankin\u2019s legs at the start of her stretch session. <\/p>\n (Luke Johnson \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n StretchLab uses PNF stretching (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation), Badilla explained, which is a \u201cpush and release\u201d technique. The recipient holds the stretch for a set period of time, then pushes into resistance provided by the practitioner for a shorter period of time, then goes back into a deeper version of the stretch. We did this repeatedly for different body parts.<\/p>\n Afterward, I felt loose and limber heading back to my car \u2014 though the sensation didn\u2019t last for very long after my car ride home. That\u2019s because the benefits of stretching come from consistency, says Amber Donaldson, <\/a>vice president of Sports Medicine Clinics for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cJust stretching once isn\u2019t beneficial,\u201d she says. \u201cYou need two weeks, minimum, of consistency to see a benefit. These [assisted stretching] places \u2014 paying for a series of treatments may keep you consistent with going.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, there are questions around the benefits of stretching, overall, in the sports medicine community, Donaldson adds. \u201cIt\u2019s controversial. When should you do it \u2014 before or after a workout \u2014 and to what extent is it beneficial at all? The jury is still out.\u201d<\/p>\n Assisted stretching, if done consistently over many weeks, may help with stiffness, pain relief and even injury prevention.<\/p>\n (Luke Johnson \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n StretchLab is far from an anomaly in L.A. There are more than half a dozen dedicated assisted stretching businesses in the area \u2014 and the trend, which began to swell nationwide in 2017-18, only seems to be growing. In addition to franchises like StretchLab and Stretch Zone<\/a>, many personal trainers offer assisted stretching, as do most physical therapists. Gyms such as Life Time<\/a> in Orange County and the Los Angeles Athletic Club<\/a> offer one-on-one assisted stretching now. Even certain massage outlets, such as Massage Envy<\/a>, offer 30 and 60-minute assisted stretching sessions.<\/p>\n The basic concept of assisted stretching is the same, no matter where you go, but different studios take slightly different approaches.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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