Runners: What If You’ve Been Trying to Loosen Up the Wrong Way?

What if the secret to moving with more freedom isn’t always stretching, rolling, or working harder to loosen up your muscles? What if you could work with your nervous system instead?

Watch elite distance runners. There’s something remarkable about the way they move.

They seem to float. Their stride looks effortless. There’s a sense of space, freedom, and fluidity in their movement.

Of course, elite runners have developed tremendous strength, coordination, fitness, and running economy through years of training. But have you ever wondered whether there are ways to help your own body move with a little more of that freedom?

And what if some of the things we routinely do to loosen up might be missing an important piece of the puzzle?

Watch: A Different Way to Think About Running and Tightness

In this short video, I introduce a different way of thinking about muscle tension, the nervous system, and how we approach movement.

It’s Not Just About Tight Muscles

When a runner feels tight, the usual response is familiar: stretch the muscle, roll it out, get a massage, or work harder to release the tension.

These approaches can be helpful. But there’s another way to think about what’s happening.

Your muscles don’t operate independently. They’re part of a nervous system that continually monitors your body and adjusts muscle activity in response to sensory information.

One part of this process is the reflex arc — the pathway through which sensory information can trigger a response in the nervous system, influencing muscle activity.

In other words, what you feel as tightness isn’t necessarily just a muscle that needs to be stretched.

Muscle tension is influenced by many factors, including nervous system activity, the demands placed on the body, fatigue, and previous injury.

So here’s a different question:

Instead of always trying to force a muscle to relax, what happens when we use a technique designed to work with the body’s reflexes?

Strain-Counterstrain: A Different Approach

Strain-counterstrain is a manual therapy approach that uses gentle positioning to help reduce tenderness and discomfort.

Rather than forcefully stretching a tight area, the practitioner positions the body to find a comfortable position, holds it briefly, and then slowly returns it to a neutral position.

The approach is based on the idea that changing the sensory input from an uncomfortable or tender area may influence the nervous system’s response.

The precise mechanisms and the extent to which this approach improves running performance are still open questions. But it’s an interesting alternative to explore — especially when the usual strategy of stretching harder doesn’t seem to be giving you what you want.

And you don’t have to take my word for it.

You can try a simple version yourself.

Try This Two-Minute Thumb Strain-Counterstrain Technique

Here’s the actual technique. You don’t need special equipment. You don’t need to be an elite runner. And you don’t need to believe anything about how it works.

I want you to experiment.

Before You Try It

1. Stand and notice how your body feels.
2. Bend forward comfortably and notice the movement.
3. Walk around and pay attention to how your arms and body move.
4. If it’s safe and appropriate, run a short, easy stretch and notice your stride.

Don’t try to change anything. Just observe.

Now try the thumb technique in the video. Follow the positioning instructions, keep everything gentle and comfortable, and allow about two minutes for the experiment.

Then repeat your original tests.

Stand. Bend. Walk. If appropriate, run again.

What do you notice?

Do your arms feel different? Does bending feel easier? Do you notice a change in how freely you walk or run? Or do you notice no meaningful difference at all?

Any of those observations is useful.

This isn’t a scientific experiment that proves a mechanism or predicts race performance. It’s a way to become curious about your own body’s response.

Safety note: Keep the technique gentle and comfortable. Stop if you experience pain, numbness, tingling, or other concerning symptoms. Don’t use this experiment to push through an injury or delay an appropriate evaluation.

Coaches, Trainers, and Runners: I Want Your Help

I’m looking for runners and coaches who are willing to think outside the box.

I want to hear from elite runners, recreational runners, personal trainers, strength coaches, and cross-country coaches.

I’m particularly interested in people who are curious about whether a simple change in approach can make a noticeable difference in how they move.

Don’t take my word for it. Don’t dismiss it because it’s different from what you’ve always done.

Try it. Test it. Notice what happens.

If you notice a difference, I’d love to hear what changed and whether the effect lasts. If you don’t notice anything, that’s useful feedback, too.

And if you’re a coach, consider the possibilities of exploring new approaches while continuing to use the strength training, mobility work, conditioning, and rehabilitation strategies that help your athletes.

My goal isn’t to tell you to stop stretching, massage, or traditional rehabilitation.

It’s to expand the conversation.

Could This Be Another Piece of the Running Puzzle?

I’m Ralph Havens, PT, OCS, IMTC. I’ve spent more than four decades working with people dealing with pain, movement restrictions, and recurring injuries.

My work with Integrative Manual Therapy and strain-counterstrain has led me to continually question whether we’re always addressing the right part of the problem.

For runners, the goal isn’t simply to have loose muscles.

It’s to move well, tolerate training, recover, and run with as much freedom and efficiency as your body and training allow.

That effortless quality you see in great runners is worth exploring from more than one angle.

Let’s Explore What’s Possible

Watch the video, try the two-minute thumb technique, and let me know what you notice.

Are you a runner or coach willing to test this? Leave a comment or reach out to me.

And if you’re dealing with recurring running injuries, persistent pain, or movement restrictions that haven’t responded as you’d hoped to conventional approaches, I’d be happy to talk with you about whether individualized physical therapy and Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) might be appropriate for your situation.

Beyond Limits Physical Therapy
Ralph Havens, PT, OCS, IMTC
Fairhaven, Bellingham, Washington
Phone: 360-599-2217
Website: RalphHavens.com

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Let’s get curious about what the body can do.