Some things shouldn’t be Surmounted. How stretching can reduce Blood Pressure and Hypertension

Stretching hasn’t always been an activity that I’ve done. Even when I was younger and played recreational sports like soccer and basketball, I rushed through the stretches because I didn’t see the value. Or maybe just because I was young and full of life and just wanted to get into the game. In either case it wasn’t something that I often did, and that habit followed me until just recently. For the past month I’ve been doing a full body 10-minute stretch before my workouts. My reason was so that I can gain at least a little bit of flexibility that I once had as a child.

This article though will perform their study for a reason other than flexibility. They wanted to compare the difference between stretching and taking a brisk walk and what effect is may have in reducing blood pressure in people with High – Normal Blood Pressure or Stage I Hypertension. Hypertension is a leading cardiovascular risk factor, and 70% of Americans will have high blood pressure in their lifetimes.

 

Study Limitations: How Stretching and Blood Pressure Research Applies to You?

Of course, in order to see if stretching or walking is better to relieve blood pressure the participants needed people with that kind of ailment. The researchers recruited 40 men and women to the study. However, there were some limitations as to who would be able to participate. The participants could not be living in a long-term care facility or had any additional serious conditions such as diabetes or cancer, among other ailments.

The researchers also decided to combine the results of both men and women sexes. They concluded that the results between men and women were overall similar enough that they didn’t see a need to separate them. It still would have been useful to be aware of the differences even if they may have seemed insignificant, but I’m no expert in statistics (yet) so I’ll trust their judgement.

One question I had was, how did they come to compare the intensity of stretching with that of the intensity of a brisk walk. It turns out that with the protocol the researchers instructed them were comparable in the duration of the exercise, frequency, and the intensity. Although intensity would be determined subjectively and only if the participants accurately held the stretch and if they held it deeply.  

 

Stretching vs. Walking: How the Study on Blood Pressure Was Conducted

The group of 40 were split into two groups. The walking group had 11 men and 9 women, while the stretching group had 5 men and 15 women. The stretching group had a total of 21 stretching exercises. During each session the stretch was done twice and help for 30 seconds with 15 seconds of rest between each stretch. They range of stretches included:

·         Lateral Neck

·         Inferior and Posterior Shoulder

·         Shoulder protraction and Extension

·         Chest

·         Gastrocnemious

·         Soleus

·         Latissimus Dorsi

·         Quadratus Lumborum

·         Quadriceps

·         Hamstrings

·         Upper and Lower Back

·         Spinal Rotators

·         Hip Flexors

·         Hip Extensors

·         Hip Adductors/Abductors

·         Gluteus

 

For the walking exercise the participants performed a 30 minute walk, which was done either outdoors on a walking trail or on a treadmill indoors during bad weather. The intended intensity was 50% - 60% of the predicted max heart rate (220 – age).

For both exercise groups, sessions were supervised 3 days out of the week and the participants were instructed to exercise on their own for another 2 days of the week. I typically lean towards skepticism in scenarios where people are expected to hold themselves accountable. After all, how could the researchers know that the participants were performing their respective exercises for those other 2 days of the week? But I’d like to think that if they put in the effort to get into this study, they would perform the protocol as best as they could.

 

Study Results: Stretching Shows Greater Blood Pressure Reduction Than Walking

There were some comparable differences in the results between the stretching and exercise group. Ultimately, the stretching group saw more beneficial results when it came to reducing blood pressure. Stretching led to more of a decrease in blood pressure. For the walking exercise group their results led to a more reduced waist circumference, which was likely since walking more so contributes to helping you lose calories.

The researchers hypothesized that stretching could be beneficial because if you were to stretch your muscles you also stretch your blood vessels. This would cause the release of vasodilating metabolites – a metabolic process that causes blood vessels to widen, thus encouraging greater blood flow.

 

Analysis: Why Stretching Could Be a Superior Exercise for Blood Pressure

Like many I assumed stretching was something you did for flexibility. But after reading this it’s clear that it’s also helpful to improve blood flow. Even so, this is just one domain of study, I’m sure there are other positive effects of stretching and perhaps specific stretching exercises that produce specific effects. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out in the future.

 

Your Experience: Have You Tried Stretching to Lower Blood Pressure?

For anyone dealing with high blood pressure or are more aware of their heart health and have tried different strategies to increasing blood pressure, what have you found out? Outside of taking medication of course. Have you considered that something as simple as stretching could improve your heart health? Do you usually opt for a brisk walk, or is stretching already a part of your routine? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

Although I am working on becoming a personal trainer, I currently am not one. The information in this post is intended to be a simplified summary of the scientific paper. If you can find one to trust, consult a doctor or medical professional for advice on health and fitness related matters. For those interested in exploring the study in more depth, I encourage you to read the full article. You can find the reference below.

 

Ko, J., Deprez, D., Shaw, K., Alcorn, J., Hadjistavropoulos, T., Tomczak, C., Foulds, H., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2021). Stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high–normal blood pressure or stage I hypertension. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 18(1), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2020-0365