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MULTIPLANE STRETCHING Up until now, we have discussed what might be described as general stretches for broad functional groups of musculature. It is often stated that a stretch to a functional group stretches all the muscles in that group. For example, a stretch to the right lateral flexor functional group might be stated as stretching all of the right lateral flexors. However, this is rarely true. Rather, what happens is that one muscle of the functional group will be tighter and shorter than the rest and will stop the excursion movement of the stretch. As a result, it will be the only muscle of that group that is actually placed under tension and stretched. The rest of the muscles in that group might have been stretched if the excursion movement of the stretch had been greater, but because the tighter, shorter muscle stopped the stretch, these other muscles were never actually brought to tension to be lengthened and stretched. For this reason, it is rarely enough to perform general functional group stretches. Rather, we need to perform what can be called multiplane stretching. Multiplane stretching is accomplished by combining together each of the cardinal plane stretches discussed so far in this article. The combination that is chosen will depend on our specific target muscle. Let's choose the right upper trapezius as our example target muscle. The right upper trapezius does extension of the head and neck in the sagittal plane, right lateral flexion of the head and neck in the frontal plane, and left (contralateral) rotation in the transverse plane. Therefore, to stretch it, we need to move the client's head and neck into flexion in the sagittal plane, left lateral flexion in the frontal plane, and right (ipsilateral) rotation in the transverse plane. And then, because the right shoulder girdle would tend to elevate and the upper trunk would tend to flex and rotate to the right, the therapist needs to stabilize the client's trunk and right shoulder girdle. This is accomplished by contacting the client on the superior surface and anterior surface of the right shoulder girdle/trunk simultaneously (Image 14). Now, let's instead use the right levator scapulae as our example. Because the right levator scapulae does extension, right lateral flexion, and right (ipsilateral) rotation of the head and neck, to stretch it, we would move the client into flexion, left lateral flexion, and left (contralateral) rotation. And the trunk and right- side shoulder girdle would need to be stabilized with contact on the superior and anterior surfaces (Image 15). Therefore, the stretch positions for the right upper trapezius and right levator scapulae are identical except for the transverse plane rotation component. Therefore, we use the rotation component to specifically target the upper trapezius from the levator scapulae. 12 14 13 15 The functional group of neck extensors is stretched by bringing the client's head and neck into flexion. Multiplane stretching for the right upper trapezius. The client's head and neck are flexed, left laterally flexed, and right rotated. The client's trunk and right shoulder girdle are stabilized. Multiplane stretching for the right levator scapulae. Note that the head and neck position is identical to the right upper trapezius stretch seen in Image 14, except for the rotation component. Stretching the client's head and neck into extension stretches the flexor functional group. Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 75