Skeletal muscles are attached to bones via tendons that maintain the muscle under a constant level of stretch called the resting length. If this attachment was removed, for example if the bicep was detached from the scapula or radius, the muscle would shorten in length.

The length is determined by where the bone attachments are,” explains Marilyn McAllister M.S., of YourFitnessYourLife.com. However, McAllister explains that muscles can become shorter or longer for short periods of time if you’re stretching (longer) or sitting at a desk all day (shorter).

Muscle shortening is mostly a result of not using a range of motion for a long period of time. The reason that it does this is complex. In essence, each muscle has a length that it is optimal for producing force.

Muscle fiber generates tension through the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten, or remain the same. Several types of muscle contractions occur and they are defined by the changes in the length of the muscle during contraction.

It is clear that stretching doesn’t actually make muscles permanently longer, experts agree. Instead, it may be that exercises such as reaching for your toes train the nervous system to tolerate a greater degree of muscle extension without firing off pain signals.

The greatest change in ROM with a static stretch occurs between 15 and 30 seconds;13,14 most authors suggest that 10 to 30 seconds is sufficient for increasing flexibility. In addition, no increase in muscle elongation occurs after 2 to 4 repetitions.

Performing stretches on a regular basis may improve your circulation . Improved circulation increases blood flow to your muscles, which can shorten your recovery time and reduce muscle soreness (also known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS).

Healthy adults should do flexibility exercises (stretches, yoga, or tai chi) for all major muscle-tendon groups—neck, shoulders, chest, trunk, lower back, hips, legs, and ankles—at least two to three times a week. For optimal results, you should spend a total of 60 seconds on each stretching exercise.

Stretching tends to feel good because it activates your parasympathetic nervous system and increases blood flow to your muscles. It’s thought that stretching may also release endorphins that help to reduce pain and enhance your mood.

When you stretch, these cells send a signal to the neurons within the muscle to tell the central nervous system that you’ve gone too far. As a result, those muscles contract, tighten, and resist the pull. That reaction is what causes the initial painful feeling that people get when they attempt to stretch.

Not only should you get a massage when you have sore muscles, but it is highly suggested. Research states that a massage has more prolonged effects and healing attributes to your soreness, unlike some medicine, which can reduce inflammation and slow the healing process.

Massage therapy relaxes muscle tissue, which reduces painful contractions and spasms. Massage can also reduce nerve compression. To understand this, consider that when muscles are contracted, they sometimes compress the nerves around them.

Research studies have noted the healing properties of Massage activates cellular activity and responds on the complex cellular level of cytokines, proteins and mitochondria. The compounds of Cytokines and activity of Proteins are reduced.

“It’s a compression therapy. It reduces inflammation, helps blood flow back into the tissue, helps with swelling and gives better range of motion,” Sheehan said.

When I was a little girl I found that if I squeezed my legs together by crossing them, I could get an orgasm. Orgasms obtained by thigh pressure is reported by some women. Of 265 women seen by Masters and Johnson between 1977 and 1980, 4 percent reported using thigh pressure to reach orgasm.

The artery was flowing fine but arteries have a fast high pressure flow that is more likely to keep the repair open but veins are slower and much lower pressured and small clots can easily form along the repair edges leading to a complete block which if it becomes established leads to congestion in the lower part of …