There are many variations of PNF, but one that shows arguably the best success is called reversal of antagonists (or, more popularly, 3S—scientific stretching for sports). The 3S protocol uses the process of pushing against a resistance (either a machine or a partner) to engage the agonist muscle while it is in a lengthened position; then, while th

as the cartilaginous articular surfaces of the bones. These articulating surfaces keep the bones apart, and the soft tissues around the joint keep the bones together.

During your time as an embryo, your fingerprints were being shaped by your mother’s movements, which in turn changed the pressure and flow of the amniotic fluid surrounding you.

When stiffness is deliberately created, a joint cannot move through its full range of motion. To exercise a joint (so as to strengthen and thicken its joint capsule and associated ligaments and fascia), and to improve a range of motion, it is best to stress the joint when it is not bearing a load—when it is relaxed. It can be quite dangerous to com

Another source of tension in the joint capsule is a process called contracture, whereby the collagen of the joint capsule tightens and is remodeled into shorter strands.

If compression were bad, every massage therapist would be out of work, and walking would be one of the worst forms of exercise. We need to compress tissues in order to stimulate the body at a cellular level. Compression stimulates healing. Take bones, for example: we have known for over 100 years that bones can be coaxed into growing thicker and st

Is the tension you experience when you reach your edge in a yoga pose due to the makeup of your fascia? Maybe. And, just as our fascia is uniquely constructed, so too are our ligaments and joint capsules. All these tissues have the capacity to contract, and that capacity is uniquely determined by nature and nurture, by our biology and our biography

Like tendons, ligaments are made up of fibers, but unlike tendons, the fibers in ligaments are not linear or lined up along one axis of stress. Instead, they are arranged in several directions, depending upon the variety of forces acting on the ligament.

while we are moving—for example, when we flow through vinyasas or through Sun Salutations (Suryanamaskar); this creates dynamic loading of the tissues, sometimes called cyclic loading.