Why your tightness might not mean what you think — and how to move better.
Stretching is something most people do without a second thought. You feel tight, so you stretch. You sit too long, so you stretch. Your back hurts, and again, you stretch. It’s been drilled into us that stretching equals self-care, injury prevention, and pain relief.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: stretching done incorrectly can do more harm than good. And more often than not, it's not addressing the root of the issue.
In clinic and classes, I hear the same type of thing:
“I stretch every day but nothing changes.”
“My hamstrings are so tight, no matter what I do.”
“Stretching feels good temporarily, but the pain always comes back.”
Let’s unpack why that happens — and what your body may really need.
- Tightness doesn't always mean shortness
There’s a huge misunderstanding that tight means short and needs to be stretched. But tightness is often a neurological response to weakness, instability, or poor joint alignment. The nervous system can create muscular tension as a protective response. That tension feels like tightness, but it isn’t necessarily mechanical shortness.
For example: tight hamstrings often show up when the glutes are underworking, the feet are unstable, or the pelvis lacks control. The hamstrings tighten up to brace the system.
Stretching them doesn’t fix the issue. It just pulls on a muscle that’s already doing too much. Until you correct the root cause, that tightness will return. Every time.
2. Fascia is often the missing link
Fascia is the connective tissue that wraps around muscles, bones, and organs. It forms a web that links the entire body. When fascia becomes restricted — from stress, trauma, poor movement, dehydration, or lack of load — it creates a dense, stuck, or pulling sensation that mimics muscle tightness.
And here’s the issue: fascia doesn’t respond well to static stretching. It often needs movement, compression, hydration, and specific release techniques to become pliable again.
If you stretch a muscle that's being restricted by tight fascia, you're not going to see results. You may even irritate the system further. That’s why so many people say, “I’m stretching every day and nothing changes.” Because they’re stretching the wrong tissue.
3. Overstretching reduces stability
Stretching beyond your active range, especially without control, can destabilise the system. It might feel satisfying, but it doesn’t create functional change. In some cases, it can lead to joint laxity, reduced proprioception, loss of power, and a higher injury risk.
This is particularly relevant for hypermobile individuals who often ‘chase the stretch’ into already vulnerable ranges. Instead of building control, they build collapse.
Flexibility without control doesn’t lead to better movement. It creates more opportunity for dysfunction.
4. Stretching in the wrong alignment leads to compensation
Muscles work in chains, not isolation. When you stretch one part of the body without anchoring or aligning the rest, the body finds ways to cheat.
Take the standing calf stretch, for example. It’s common to see the back foot turned outwards.
When the back foot turns out during a calf stretch, the leg rotates outward from the hip, taking the stretch off the true line of the calf. Although the foot and knee may look aligned, the loading is no longer through the sagittal plane, so the stretch becomes ineffective. You’re not targeting the calf, you’re avoiding it.
There’s no tension through the appropriate muscle fibres, and you lose the very benefit you're aiming for.
5. Ignoring the feet undermines everything above
You cannot build a house on an unstable foundation. Yet most people stretch their hips, backs, hamstrings, and necks — and never assess their feet.
If your feet are weak, collapsed, or disconnected from your nervous system, your body will compensate with tension higher up the chain.
Stretching your hamstrings or calves repeatedly without addressing foot posture and load distribution won’t solve the problem. Real change starts at the base.
6. Stretching doesn't correct movement patterns
If you stretch a muscle within a dysfunctional pattern, all you’re doing is reinforcing that dysfunction with more range.
Take a forward fold. If you hinge from your lower back instead of your hips, you’re not correcting anything by pushing further. You’re training the body to load incorrectly — over and over again.
That’s how repetitive strain and injury creep in, even when you're doing something that seems helpful on the surface.
So what should we be doing instead?
We need a different framework. One that respects the nervous system, fascia, biomechanics, and proper sequencing. That’s why I developed my signature method — the one that’s helped hundreds of people move better, feel stronger, and stay out of pain.
Release. Lengthen. Strengthen. Stabilise.
1. Release
Start with the nervous system and fascia. Use breathwork, hands-on techniques, compression tools, and calming strategies to reduce protective tension. The body needs to feel safe and supported before it can move well. You can’t build strength or flexibility if the system is still in defence mode.
2. Lengthen
Once restrictions ease, you can start to create genuine length through aligned movement. This isn’t about pulling harder, holding longer, or collapsing into flexibility. It’s about restoring normal range of motion through quality movement. Length needs control, not force.
3. Strengthen
Now we layer in strength. The aim here isn’t just to get stronger — it’s to wake up the muscles that have been underworking. This gives the overworked muscles a chance to switch off. Strength only sticks when the system has been released and lengthened first.
4. Stabilise
This is where it all comes together. We integrate the improvements into functional movement patterns — walking, balancing, lifting, standing. This step ensures everything holds under load, pressure, and day-to-day life. Stability isn’t about gripping, it’s about clear communication between body systems.
This method is how we create long-term, sustainable results. Not by chasing flexibility for the sake of it, but by restoring connection, balance, and control.
Final thought
Stretching isn’t bad. But it’s not a one-size-fits-all fix. It’s one piece of a much bigger puzzle. If you’re constantly chasing tightness, it might be time to stop pulling and start listening. Your body could be asking for something completely different.
And it all starts — from the feet up.
The Release Ritual is a hands-on treatment designed to calm the nervous system and create deep change, starting at the feet.
By releasing tension and fascia through the soles of the feet, the body begins to unwind. This gentle but powerful approach encourages natural movement to return, eases physical and emotional holding, and supports whole-body healing in a way that stretching alone can’t achieve.
If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of tightness or discomfort, this could be the first step in creating lasting change — not by pushing the body harder, but by giving it what it’s been waiting for.
Book The Release Ritual today and start reconnecting with your body …from the feet up.
Comments