Myo-fascial Stretching Commentary Part I as part of April’s Physical Fitness and Sports Awareness Month: Stretching. What a simple topic that people make so complicated with respect to results. Does stretching work… yes, but not if you read certain articles or believe that total range of motion training will correct joint dysfunction. There are different types of stretching and at the Legacy Sport & Wellness Center in Dallas we have clients use various modalities… and yes, they do work and no, they do not always feel comfortable when doing them especially for the sport people and athletes. Look for future lectures about this topic at our center in Dallas but for now here is a take away… if you have bone spurs in your shoulder, for example, that destroy one of the bursa sacs, and lets say you play professional golf… one can begin to lose space in at the AC-joint and GH joint due to the missing bursa, the type swing mechanics/style and repeated contraction of the biceps muscle. All this can result in pain, inflammation and the potential for new tears and damage to surrounding structures. Will lifting weights or massage correct this alone? NO. Myofascial stretching is needed to create and maintain the space once occupied by the bursa in addition to normalizing the connective tissue specific to the aforementioned structures as it contributes to the shape of the muscles and the joint. How is this accomplished…MYOFASCIAL STRETCHING! I could use dozens of different case histories… surgical repair of both medial and lateral meniscus, patellar femoral bone, achilles tendonitis and plantar fascitis all respond to MFS. Here’s a thought… maybe the results in the study are due to poor application by the practitioner and a lack of supporting exercises to normalize the regions..