The tagline for an old milk commercial applies to stretching as well as milk: “It does a body good.”
And that’s why StretchPlex exists. StretchPlex is an assisted stretching facility where body coaches help a person stretch.
According to Julius Toth, the manager at the Kennett Square location on Mill Road, “The idea behind assisted stretching is that folks come into our location, lie down on a massage table, and one of our body coaches will physically move them through different ranges of motion trying to achieve a stretch. The idea is that we can help people get better stretches than they could solo. The greater the stretch, the greater the benefit.”
Toth, who has a degree in kinesiology from Temple University, said assisted stretching can be part of a physical therapy program, but is not physical therapy in and of itself. Physical therapists and chiropractors refer their patients to facilities such as StretchPlex. But most of the people who come through the door are there because of word of mouth.
“They come to improve movement because they want to become more flexible. We see a lot of folks come in to try to manage pain,” he said. “This is a tool in the toolbox of a physical therapist, but this is something I recommend after physical therapy.”
According to Toth StretchPlex was founded by physical therapist Steve Rapposelli of Delaware. There are three locations in Delaware, while the Kennett Square facility is the only one in Pennsylvania. And if a person comes in with a situation that StretchPlex can’t help, Toth will refer that person to a physical therapist.
In working with clients, Toth — who is also a personal trainer, and a strength and conditioning coach — said he and his staff look for client consent in how deep stretches go. It’s up to the client to say how far or how deep a stretch should be for them. In short, he wants to keep people within their comfort zone.
“There are some people who are absolutely not comfortable going past a certain point, and we always work with a person to establish what that looks like. We get a sense of how it feels when we’re doing it,” he said. “We’re never looking for a pain response.”
He added that pain is the number one reason people come to StretchPlex. They want help in making the pain go away.
“Most of that is pain in the lower back, pain. In the hips, pain in the knees or shoulder…People who come in here have tried acupuncture and other different types of alternative medicine. They want to know if [stretching] works. For muscular-skeletal issues, this is often a very effective way to reduce or even completely annihilate pain,” he said.
The focus is on the soft tissue: muscles, tendons, and ligaments, he said. Problems with bones or neurological issues are things StretchPlex can’t fix.
Pricing at StretchPlex varies based on the type of program, single sessions, or packages. Prices range from $15 for a single 15-minute compression therapy to $680 for 12 sessions of assisted stretching at 50 minutes per session.
StretchPlex Kennett Square is at 228 S. Mill Road and the phone number is 302-696-5966. Phone, or visit https://stretchplexnow.com/kennett-square/ for more information.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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