Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1234356
lumbar spine. This caused an irritation to the femoral nerve innervation of the vastus muscles, resulting in pain and tightness in the vastus lateralis. For this particular client, full flexion of the leg at the knee joint (with the thigh flexed at the hip joint to slacken the rectus femoris and knock it out of the stretch) was and is an important part of their therapy (Image 10). Yes, this is a rare case, but for this client it was extremely effective and valuable at reducing tightness and pain in the anterior thigh. CONCLUSION There are many more muscles that have been touted as being unstretchable that could be discussed here, but the bigger picture is that any muscle—any soft tissue—can be lengthened. And, if that lengthening succeeds in reaching and gently exceeding the tissue tension barrier of that tissue, then it can be stretched. Indeed, for a client who has a very tight muscle, only a small range of motion is needed to lengthen and effectively stretch it. Is it fair to say that some muscles are much more challenging to stretch than others? Yes, certainly it is. But to say that a muscle can never be stretched is hyperbole that does not serve the field of manual therapy. Dr. Joe Muscolino has been a manual and movement therapy educator for more than 30 years. He is the author of multiple textbooks, including The Muscular System Manual: The Skeletal Muscles of the Human Body (Elsevier, 2017); The Muscle and Bone Palpation Manual with Trigger Points, Referral Patterns, and Stretching (Elsevier, 2016); and Kinesiology: The Skeletal System and Muscle Function (Elsevier, 2017). He teaches continuing education workshops around the world, including a certification in Clinical Orthopedic Manual Therapy (COMT ), and has created LearnMuscles Continuing Education (LMCE), a video streaming subscription service for manual and movement professionals, with seven new video lessons added each and every week. And he has created Muscle Anatomy Master Class (MAMC), the most comprehensive and detailed muscle anatomy online class in the world, with each muscle taught in five distinct video lessons. Visit www.learnmuscles.com for more information or reach him directly at joseph.e.muscolino@gmail.com. Stretching the vastus musculature of the quadriceps group. Permission Dr. Joe Muscolino. 10 For a client who has a very tight muscle, only a small range of motion is needed to lengthen and effectively stretch it. N e w ! A B M P P o c k e t P a t h o l o g y a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / a b m p - p o c k e t - p a t h o l o g y - a p p . 67