Harley Young feels very limber after a visit to the new assisted-stretching studio
Designed to get your body moving in ways that wouldn’t be possible on your own, Manchester’s brand new assisted stretching site Stretched is helping people across the city limber up and improve their posture.
Now open in Manchester city centre, the brand’s first site outside of Scotland, Stretched was created with the simple yet powerful idea that everyone deserves to move better and feel better.
Founded by experienced physiotherapist Craig McHugh, Stretched was inspired by the popularity of assisted stretching studios in America and Japan. Having worked for more than 10 years with thousands of patients, from NHS referrals to elite athletes, Craig sought to bring the benefits of assisted stretching to the UK.
By identifying areas of tension, Stretch Therapists (who are trained through Stretched’s in-house Stretched Academy) customise each individual’s dynamic stretch to help improve flexibility and range of movement.
At Stretched Manchester’s Fountain Street site, there’s a reception area - kitted out with merch and wellness tech like TheraGuns ready to purchase - and two bright-and-airy changing rooms designed for slipping into something more comfortable and stretch-suitable if you’re popping in on your lunch break or after work.
Then there’s the studio itself - beautifully sleek and simple with warm and neutral (not clinical) lighting and colour scheme. Inside the room are five beds with mirrors, each with ample space to move around between.
Both the 25-minute (£45) and 50-minute (£70) sessions start with a mobility scan; a quick, simple and easy-to-follow step that involves copying a character on screen (e.g. raising arms, squatting, returning back to standing position). In a matter of seconds, the tablet had analysed my attempts and brought up a digital breakdown of my strengths and weaknesses, clearly indicating that I had a weaker left hand side and tight hamstrings.
This data, which I could email over to myself to keep note of, gave my stretch therapist Zoe an idea of which of my problem areas we should work on during this initial session.
Zoe made me feel very at ease from the off, acknowledging that it might seem a little unusual to have someone help you stretch, but reassuring me that the more I relax into it, the more benefit I would see. She was also very honest and set my expectations straight away, mentioning that I will feel some instant benefit immediately after the session but, to fully improve the tightness in my hamstrings, consistent appointments would be crucial.
The stretching session started with a TheraGun to warm up my muscles before Zoe began stretching each of my limbs one by one with great attention to detail, regularly checking in with me to make sure I wasn’t in too much pain and keeping an eye on how my body responded to the movements.
Once my limbs had been thoroughly stretched, it was time to move onto my core, back and neck - a more enjoyable part of the stretching session that I was very much looking forward to since I regularly sit slumped over a desk with poor posture.
Just over an hour after I’d entered Stretched Manchester, I left with my head held high - both from my newly improved posture and because I felt completely renewed.
If you fancy giving assisted stretching a try, check out Stretched Manchester by visiting stretched.uk.
Stretched Manchester, 81 Fountain Street, Manchester M2 2EE
Opening hours
Monday – 10am to 8pm
(Closed On Tuesday)
Wednesday – Friday 10am to 8pm
Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm
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