Restricted joints and tight muscles can slow even the fittest people. Stretch therapy is becoming an increasingly common part of physical fitness routines for active St. Louisans looking to better their regular workouts or reach more ambitious goals.
By using techniques like foam rolling, massage, passive stretches, and myofascial release, practitioners can increase their flexibility and range of motion, which can prevent injuries down the road.
Your guide to a healthier, happier you
Sign up for the St. Louis Wellness newsletter and get practical tips for a balanced, healthy life in St. Louis.
Studios and businesses throughout the metro area offer stretch therapy as a solution for anyone and everyone.
Think about StretchLab as a fitness center solely dedicated to helping you improve your flexibility. Through services like one-on-one stretching—available in 25- and 50-minute sessions—StretchLab’s trained Flexologists bend, twist, and position your body to target problem areas and specific muscle groups. Each session is tailored to the individual’s needs, so no visit is the same.
A StretchLab service rising in popularity is Normatec Compression Therapy. This pneumatic compression therapy uses leg attachments filled with compressed air to massage leg muscles and mobilize fluid. StretchLab has locations in Ladue and Town and Country.
Rock Hill’s Stretch U is open seven days a week and offers 20-, 40-, and 60-minute stretching sessions to help a wide range of athletes reduce aches and pains and improve flexibility in the long run. Whether you’re an avid golfer, a gym rat, or just someone who likes to jog when they have time, Stretch U has a solution.
Also available on-site is Stretch U’s cryotherapy cryosauna. This specialized system envelopes individuals in extremely cold air, thereby accelerating the body’s recovery process. (It also happens to be the same unit the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals use to help their athletes recover.)
The staff at VIVIA treats stretch therapy as a holistic strengthening process that helps people reach their goals and maintain their wellness. They combine both passive stretching (motionless) with active stretching (repeating a stretch after holding it 20–30 seconds) to increase a patient’s flexibility and range of motion.
VIVIA stretch therapy sessions last for 60 minutes, and its experts say the sessions help people struggling with anything from shoulder injuries to tendonitis to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome to back pain. Even better, VIVIA technicians meet you wherever is most convenient, so you don’t have to fight traffic to reap the benefits.
Knot Magic Muscle Therapy in Ladue is more than massage therapy: This specialized clinic uses the I.B.A.R. Method to consider a person’s muscles, joints, and bones and determine the source of their pain or discomfort. Its technicians then employ 80-plus different techniques to help clients return to their typical “balance” and eliminate any pain that may be plaguing them.
