For the article "In Defense of Stretching" by Jean Couch.
1) Muscle contraction stimulates its neurological brain (the muscle spindle) to define the muscle's resting length. Unless movements go through complete range of motion in an aligned manner, the muscle spindle resets the joint into a restricted position.
2) Stretching allows muscles to relax and receive increased blood flow and oxygen
3) When injury or imbalances physical activity hinders a joint's mobility, other joints make postural compensations
4) Tight muscles on one side of a joint create weak opposing muscles (antagonists) on the other side of the joint
5) Tight muscles pull the body out of alignment from the ideally balanced anatomical position
6) A muscle that is too tight loses its power due to less mobility
7) Ligament, having no inherent contractile property, need full joint motions to maintaing their integrity.
8) Random tightness diminishes the stretch reflex and the body therefore loses its efficient functioning
9) Internal organs dependent upon vascular flow may not perform optimally as a result of structural misalignments
