What duration is most often recommended for stretching soft tissue or reducing muscle spasm?

• A. 5 minutes
• B. 10 minutes
• C. 25 minutes
• D. 20-30 minutes

Answer: (D)

When you want to lengthen soft tissue or quiet muscle spasm, the stretch needs to be held long enough for the tissue to yield and for the nervous system to relax. Short holds mainly move the tissue mechanically and can keep the muscle in a protective guard due to the stretch reflex, limiting gains in length. Prolonged stretching—about twenty to thirty minutes—allows viscoelastic creep of the muscle-tendon unit and autogenic inhibition to reduce guarding, leading to greater length change and less spasm. Shorter durations like five or ten minutes don’t provide the same level of tissue relaxation, and while a single value like twenty-five minutes falls within the longer end of the window, stating the range as twenty to thirty minutes best captures the typical recommendation.