Why you might be stretching too much – and what to do instead!

Once upon a time in my career I had a patient who the only advice I gave him was to stop stretching. Two weeks later he returned to my care and reported a 90% improvement in symptoms - simply from discontinuing the stretches he had been doing numerous times a day. 

Why did I give this advice? Simply put, tight doesn’t always mean short. 

In fact, for many people—especially active women and moms juggling all the things—chronic tightness is often your body’s way of asking for support, not just a stretch.

Let’s break down the why. 

The Length-Tension Relationship

Your muscles work best in what’s called the perfect length tension relationship. Think of it like a rubber band. If that rubber band is too stretched out, you have to wind it really far to do it’s job. That’s a relationship where the length is greater than the tension. If the rubber band is too tight, it takes extra force to perform it’s job. Muscles work the same way. 

If a muscle is too short, it doesn’t have enough room to contract powerfully. 

It a muscle is too long, it lacks the resting tension appropriate to create a strong contraction as it has further to go. 

But when it’s just right, it has enough slack to stretch and enough tension to support movement with power and control.

So when muscles feel tight, it’s not always because they’re short. Sometimes they’re over-lengthened or weak, and they’re tightening up to try to create stability your body is lacking.

Stretching a muscle that feels tight isn’t always the answer. It’s possible that if you’re constantly stretching what you believe to be a tight muscle, you may be causing more damage, or risk for injury. 

Think about just a minute ago when we talked about how muscles can tighten up to create stability that your body needs. Muscles often shorten up as a protective mechanism—to keep a joint stable when there’s weakness elsewhere. If you keep pulling on that muscle without addressing the weakness, you risk losing that built-in support system.

You might be fighting your body’s natural safety system: the stretch reflex. Your body has a built-in protective response called the stretch reflex. When a muscle is stretched too quickly or too far, your nervous system sends a signal for it to contract—not to relax—in order to prevent injury. It’s your body’s way of saying, “Whoa, that’s too much!” If you’re constantly trying to stretch past this natural boundary, you’re not only fighting against your body’s instincts—you may also be irritating the muscle, increasing tension rather than relieving it.

Research supports this idea. Studies show that increased muscle tension and stiffness can often be neurological in nature, meaning your nervous system is driving the tightness—not the actual length of the muscle. Stretching without addressing the root cause (often weakness or imbalance) can lead to frustration, plateau, or even injury.

So, what should you do instead?

Now, I’m not anti-stretching. I absolutely believe that stretching can feel good, and has its place. However, I typically encourage gentle stretching and usually only one time per day. There are also other variations to just the static stretching to consider as well. What your body might actually be craving is strength and dynamic movement. 

Try these strengthening moves in addition, or instead:

I often have patients try these 4 bodyweight movements to tap into muscle strength to ultimately make the body work together more cohesively without that nagging tightness. 

1. Glute bridges. This is a popular exercise for a reason. It is a multi-joint exercise that activates a lot of your “big movers”. Lying on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, push down into your feet to lift your bum up into the air. Try to feel your glutes tighten, your lower back engage and the back of your thighs activate. 

2. Wall sits. A sneaky one for engaging your hip stabilizers. Just as it sounds, act is if you are sitting on a chair against the wall. 

3. Wall angels. These help to open up your chest and relieve neck tightness. Standing with your bum and upper back against the wall, place the backs of your arms against the wall in a “W” position, and slowly slide them up along the wall until you reach a “V” position. 

4. Good mornings. This movement teaches proper hip hinging while strengthening the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. It’s especially helpful for people with tight hamstrings or low back stiffness who tend to overstretch instead of reinforce those muscle groups. Standing up straight with your hands behind your head, bend your trunk forward as you push your hips backward. This motion shoulder naturally slightly bend your knees as you move forward. 

Other Movement Based Alternatives to Stretching

Static stretching is when you put your muscle in a stretch and hold it for a prolonged period of time. Dynamic stretching, conversely, is more active in which you move your muscles and joints through a range of motion to warm up the body and improve movement. 

Instead of going straight to static stretches, try incorporating dynamic movements or low-intensity activity into your day:

1. Walking.Simple and underrated. Keeps your joints moving and your muscles active.

2. Inchworms. A great full-body move that gently lengthens and strengthens. From a standing position, place your arms hands down on the floor. Walk your hands out until your in a straight arm plank position, then walk your feet up to your hands. Repeat this 4-5 times.

3. Butt kicks. Wakes up the hamstrings and improves coordination. In a standing position, simply kick your heel up toward your butt, alternate legs, and repeat this 10 times.

4. Lunge with thoracic rotation. Opens the hips and spine dynamically—amazing for those desk-bound or carrying kids all day. Getting into a lunge position, place your hands on the ground, and rotate the arm on the same side as the forward leg, and your trunk to look up toward the ceiling. Perform this 3-4 times per side.

The Bottom Line

That constant need to stretch? It’s your body’s way of whispering, “I need more support.”

Before you reach for another deep hamstring stretch or aggressive quad pull, pause and ask: Is this muscle tight because it’s weak, not short? Am I stretching something that actually needs to be strengthened?

A balanced body isn’t just about flexibility—it’s about strength, stability, and smart movement patterns.

So yes, stretch when it feels good. But don’t stop there. Build strength, move dynamically, and trust your body’s signals.