Muscles are made up of strands of muscle fibres which should lie parallel with one another. Each muscle has an origin and insertion where they attach to bones or other connective tissue. But sometimes, due to injury, degeneration, overuse or hard training, these muscle fibres can become damaged, congested and tangled. This can distort attachment points and cause restrictions and pain.  Sometimes we can stretch/foam roll to help combat this and realign fibres. However, unlike stretching, STR targets specific areas of tension within a muscle. It is also useful for targeting muscles that are difficult to stretch actively and for isolating a muscle within a group of muscles that would normally stretch together.

STR involves the therapist using manual pressure on a muscle to create a temporary false attachment point and then taking the muscle into a pain-free stretch to untangle the muscle fibres. STR is used to increase range of movement, relieve pain, prevent, repair and manage injuries.

Benefits include:

• Realigning muscle fibres that have been stressed due to injury
• Breaking up of adhesions between muscles
• Aiding posture
• Joint mobilisation
• Re-aligning scar tissue