"Pin and Stretch" - oh how I love thee!

"Pin and stretch" is a technique used to ease discomfort in muscles experiencing a heightened state of tension which can be attributed to any number of reasons (bad posture, sudden wrenching of the muscle, holding tension in that area, etc.)

The technique works by placing the targeted muscle in a shortened position (contracting the muscle) whereby a practitioner will maneuver a particular body part (while having the client relax that area as much as possible - deferring control over to the practitioner) to passively contract the targeted muscle (to "passively contract" means that instead of you - "the client" contracting the muscle - the practitioner will maneuver your body to contract the muscle for you).  The muscle is first placed into a shortened "contracted" position as this will bring the muscle tissue to a relaxed and more pliable state.  This enables the practitioner to apply a steady and firm pressure directly into the muscle, generally the belly of the muscle but could also be an attachment site of the muscle ("attachment site" refers to a spot where the muscle attaches to bone).  Once firm pressure is applied, the practitioner will then stretch the muscle by maneuvering a body part as needed.

One easy example for visual reference would be the biceps.  Although the biceps don't often need to be stretched out it provides an easy visual reference. You are laying on a table, face up - with your arm and palm straight (level with the table) and face up.  The practitioner will flex your forearm at the elbow - bringing your forearm 90 degree angle form the table - thus passively contracting the biceps muscle. This will make your bicep muscle more loose, at which time the practitioner will apply steady pressure somewhere within the biceps muscle and then slowly bring your forearm back down so it is again level with the table.  Once the stretch is complete, the practitioner will slowly bring the forearm back up to a 90 degree angle from the table, release the pressure, and smooth out the muscle area (think - relaxing strokes to make the area happy :D).


Incredibly often when using this technique, both yourself and the client will feel the tension simply melt away with the stretch, resulting in a ridiculously happy and giddy client when getting off your table (no - serious, ridiculously happy and giddy :D).

I *love* this technique because you get so much bang for your buck so to speak but more importantly - it's not an overly invasive technique.  The client is more likely to feel loose and relaxed afterwards with little to no discomfort as opposed to banged up and bruised as if they'd been hit by a mac truck :D when more invasive techniques are employed.