In this video, I explain the two reasons why static stretching isn’t effective for releasing muscle tension and relieving pain: Because static stretching activates your stretch reflex (myotatic reflex), and because it doesn’t change the learned messages that your nervous system is sending to your muscles to stay tight.
You can learn more in these two blog posts: What is the Stretch Reflex? and Why Stretching Doesn’t Work.
Recommended reading:
The Pain Relief Secret: How to Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain by Sarah Warren, CSE
Somatics: Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility and Health by Thomas Hanna