How to Stretch Ligaments

Stretching is a necessary part of maintaining a healthy body. A flexible, limber body helps prevent injuries such as sprains and strains of muscles, tendons and ligaments. Most people focus on stretching their muscles, not realizing that the ligaments around their joints are just as important. Ligaments connect bone to bone. Flexibility in your ligaments is needed in movements where you may otherwise hurt yourself, such as in your knee when pivoting to turn. But there is a limit. Too much flexibility will lessen joint stability, so don't push things too much.

Instructions

  1. How to Stretch Ligaments

    • 1

      Perform normal stretches for your muscles. When stretching muscles, you are also stretching the ligaments in a natural movement. This includes but is not limited to touching your toes, twists, shoulder stretches and quadriceps stretches.

    • 2

      Rotate joints such as shoulders, ankles and wrists in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. This loosens up the ligaments in the joint.

    • 3

      Stand with your knees slightly bent and rotate your knees in clockwise and counterclockwise fashions. You can't rotate them as freely as your ankle or wrist, but it is important to take them through a full range of motion.

    • 4

      Push yourself in a stretch only to the point of feeling a light strain. A ligament pulled beyond 6% of its length will tear.