Physio therapist Dale Deis and physiologist Ed Stiles, longtime Hatters with a passion for physical health and fitness, have put together an easy-to-understand book with a focus on proper stretching.--PHOTO COURTESY WELLNESS THROUGH STRETCHING FACEBOOK PAGE
After more than two decades working together in Medicine Hat, and with a combined 60-plus years of physical health experience, new authors Dale Deis and Ed Stiles are helping people get back to the basics.
Deis, a physio therapist, and Stiles, a physiologist, the duo has worked in lockstep for more than 20 years in a self-described “symbiotic” relationship where the former works with patients to rehab an injury before sending them to the latter to build back up their strength.
However, one thing they’ve noticed time and time again is most people are improperly stretching, before and after activity, and before and after injury.
“I developed a little bit of a different philosophy on stretching, because I don’t think most people know how,” says Deis. “They get a basic of how to do dynamic stretching (which is what you see before activity), but a static stretch is what we do afterwards.”
Essentially, dynamic stretching is all about turning the muscle on and increasing blood flow, while static stretching turns the muscle off in order to focus on range of motion.
Through their new book, Guide to Wellness Through Stretching, Deis and Stiles not only break down the differences and lay out the when and where for each type of stretch, they break down and simplify proper techniques from head to toe.
“It’s about foundation,” Stiles says. “If your muscular skeletal system is out of balance, then all those other things you like to do, hurt.
“Whether it’s injury, or your postural tendencies, whatever, stretching is the foundation to making sure those joints maintain their balance.
“And it’s often misunderstood.”
The book, which comes in under 100 pages, is a layman’s handbook for proper stretching, complete with extensive photos of the authors themselves taking the reader through each technique.
“We really wanted people to understand that slow, static thought process that you need to be relaxed, you need to have tension on the muscle,” Stiles says. “(A static stretch) is the true, only way to really increase the range of motion of the muscular unit.”
While the initial goal was to appeal to personal trainers, physio and massage therapists, chiropractors, etc., the book’s focus is on simplicity in order to reach a broader audience.
“We wanted to make it simple to allow these people to take the book and send clients home with stretches and that they know how to do them properly,” says Deis.
And it isn’t just for sport or sport injury rehabilitation, as evidenced by the 200 copies and in-person author demonstration purchased by CF Industries as part of efforts to prevent workplace injuries.
“We can reach a heck of a lot more people through this book than we ever could individually on our own,” Deis said. “And that’s the idea – give people the tools so they can help themselves.”
For more information or to purchase a copy of Guide to Wellness Through Stretching, visit wellnessthroughstretching.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram. The book is also available through Amazon.
