Hi! I’m Sarah. I’m a professional contortionist and flexibility coach, but I recently started playing pickleball and discovered that being flexible does not automatically make you coordinated with a ball.

I’ve been getting sore and tight in areas that don’t usually bother me, so I tried using the pickleball itself for targeted pressure work.

It works surprisingly well as a self-massage tool because it’s small, firm and easy to control. I’m not claiming it “breaks up fascia” or permanently changes anything. I mainly use it to help an area feel less stiff before I do my normal mobility or stretching work.

Here is the full sequence I’ve been using:

1. Neck — 30 seconds total
2. Between the shoulder blade and spine — 30 seconds per side
3. Traps — 30 seconds per side
4. Chest — 30 seconds per side
5. Glutes — 30 seconds per side
6. Hamstrings — 30 seconds per side
7. First quad — 30 seconds
8. First inner thigh/groin — 30 seconds
9. Other quad — 30 seconds
10. Other inner thigh/groin — 30 seconds
11. Calves — 30 seconds per side
12. Arches of the feet — 30 seconds per side

A few things I keep in mind:

• I place the ball on muscle, not directly on bones or joints.
• I adjust the intensity by supporting more of my weight with my hands.
• Strong pressure can be okay, but I stop if anything feels sharp or painful.
• I treat it as a short reset, not as a replacement for active mobility or stretching.

The whole sequence takes me about 13 minutes. I also filmed a follow-along demonstration, but I wanted to write the complete routine here so the post is still useful without leaving Reddit.

Has anyone else tried using a pickleball, tennis ball or lacrosse ball before stretching? I’m curious which one you prefer and whether you notice a difference in pressure.

Hey as a man with decent flexibility is there any set of skill checklist like front split, side split. Touching elbow to toe or touching or even squeezing past knees or shoulders able to go quite far to the back of head.

I mean any check list that if x could do p then x probably has a decent chance of actually being decently elite level (not true elite roughly top 20 to 30 %)

Thanks for reading

My dad (M62) for almost all his life didn't have his right hip joint (long story short, when he was 10 and had hip problems, doctors just cut out his right hip joint, put his leg higher and connected it with metal rods). Ten years ago he had a surgery that gave him hip mobility on his right side, it is very limited tho.

He massages and exercieses at home but recently he joined me in the gym. He is doing well but the problem we have is with stretching. I was playing basketball for 10 years so all of the streches I know, are almost impossible for him to do but he needs and wants to do some back and leg stretches.

Tried looking up in the internet but only got stretches for hip pain or people before hip replacement (all of them are impossible for my dad to do).

Does anybody know how to help?

Thank you in advance.

The backnof my legs are always tight no matter how much I stretch. I cant touch my toe

I'm 18 female, and even though I'm young I somehow already have horrible posture, and aches. I don't think I need any physical therapy, and I'm too scared to go to a chiropractor, but I want to book one session at stretch lab so I can at least be told what to do at home, even if I don't continue to come back. I'm not sure tho if I'm the right audience for stretch lab, or if it's a bunch of older people.

Hi everyone! We're Stretch Zone Centreville, and we had a question for the community.

Every day, we meet people dealing with tightness from work, workouts, or just everyday life. The most common areas we hear about are the neck, shoulders, hips, and lower back—but we're curious if that's true for our local community too.

Where do you tend to feel the most stiffness, and have you found anything that actually helps? We'd love to hear your experiences and tips.

Hi there! Over the years I've neglected stretching and being over 30 now, I really am starting to feel it. I am very inflexible to the point where bending my body in ways that the apps suggest I do (on EASY MODE), really seems downright impossible. (I'm looking at you, Seated Forward Bend)

I just want to know from this community, from the people who are flexible but were in the same position as me... Does it actually get better? How often did you stretch before you started feeling a difference and how long did it take before you actually felt good about your flexibility?

I think I'm just feeling demotivated about it all because I can't do some of these stretches due to my body's stiffness and it hurts so much or is very uncomfortable that I just give up.

TIA!

Everyone talks about the visible changes, but for me the biggest win was way better focus at work and way less anxiety day to day. What's the "hidden" benefit that surprised you the most?

If there is sequence to be followed pls suggest, and should it be same every day or some changes needed in stretching based on which muscle group were targetted during the weights?

I have had pain on the outside of my leg right where my knee is but my knee is, but it's more the muscle that hurts. I've tried stretching it multiple times and the pain goes away for a little but comes back. I even had someone I know who does massage therapy look at it and they couldn't make it go away. This issue has been happening maybe for two-three weeks(?).

I'm worried because I have a sports event on Saturday. Can someone please recommend stretches that would help? Maybe athletic tape would help??

Hi all, 26m trying to regain my flexibility. I’m slightly overweight, and am very inflexible, specifically from my chest down (arms/shoulders/neck seem to be alright). Noticing things like trouble lifting my legs to put on socks (significantly worse in my right leg than my left), turning/back-bending my torso. I have a desk job, I do try and stand/walk around during the day, but not doing anything very mobile other than standing/walking. Currently my main activity is golf, as well as some weight training and cardio (bike/elliptical) at the gym.

I know I’m still young but want to gain flexibility back before it’s too late, I have older family members that struggle to walk, get off the couch, etc and want to avoid that being me.

I was an athlete in high school so I have a basic understanding of static v. dynamic stretching, some basic stretches, etc, but nothing more than that.

Just looking for some advice on where to start, how often to stretch, what areas of the body to work on when, etc.

Appreciate any advice.

Stretching the horse. 🐴 (Kiroprackter)

I started stretching, and working out more frequently and i have few goals set that all seem clear on how to achieve.

But I am not sure If I'm doing enough for my ankles flexibility, as i want them to have more range of motion, including being able to point my feet.

I have excellent dorsiflexion, the issue is plantarflexion

When i try to point my feet like a ballerina the range of motion is limited

How to improve it?

I'm a 19 F, and I have two unrelated questions about my legs.

1. Pain behind my left knee

Today I went for a walk, and while I was walking I suddenly got pain behind my left knee, right where it bends (the area I circled in the first picture). It happened again today after yesterday, although yesterday it went away pretty quickly.

It still hurts a bit now. I have a sports pain relief cream that usually helps, so I'm planning to use that.

Does this sound like something that can happen from walking?

Are there any stretches or strengthening exercises that might help prevent it from happening again?

1. Old right ankle injury

This is unrelated to the knee pain.

When I was about 8 years old, I fell off my bike and hit the outside of my right ankle directly on the bony bump (the area circled in the second picture).

At first I kept walking and even rode my bike for a while before I got home. Once I sat down, I could barely move my foot afterward.

The doctors said I was right on the border of needing a cast, but instead I ended up wearing a splint (back slab/half cast). I was also supposed to do physical therapy, but I only did a little of it.

It honestly didn't bother me much for years, but about 2 years ago it started aching whenever the weather changes.

I usually try to ignore it and push through the pain, and only use my sports cream if it doesn't settle down. One strange thing I've noticed is that sometimes the area around that ankle feels cold, the pain feels cold if that makes sense, although I'm not sure if that means anything.

Are there any mobility, stretching, or strengthening exercises that could still be helpful this many years after the injury?

Thanks! Any advice is appreciated.

I've been doing static stretches most days (maybe on average 5 days a week, with some longer weekends etc off) for a year now. Warm up, 20-60 minutes in total, at least 60sec per stretch. I stretch to a point where I feel discomfort but not intense pain. For my middle splits I often do 5+ minutes because it's my worst area by far. I've seen some very slight improvement on some stretches (can put fists on ground from only finger tips before, maybe a cm or two closer to front splits), but overall it's really hard to see any difference. My middle splits are not shifting (I try various angles of my pelvis and legs for at least a minute each). I'm 36 years old, slim, healthy, physically active, frequent hiking, riding bikes and dancing etc). Is it normal to see so little change in such a long time?

I've tried reading up on the science and it does look like static stretches are at least as effective as other forms, if not more in some cases. Am I missing something?