Because the aftereffects of a broken femur and a fractured pelvis too often replaced the pleasure I derive from cycling with a toothache-like pain in my hips and glutes, I visited a chiropractor for the first time in May 2013. After treatment, he demonstrated two stretches he wanted me to do as soon as I woke up and before and after I worked out.

Hold each stretch for five seconds and do each six times each session, he advised. I did the math and then did it again, certain I had made a mistake. But no. Five times 12 does equal 60. Sixty seconds does equal a minute.So all the good doc was suggesting was three minutes of stretching a day. Since I wanted to get better sooner rather than later, I asked if doubling or tripling the time was possible.By the way he looked at me, you would've thought I asked if boarding The Good Ship Lollipop to visit Peppermint Bay was really possible. "Most patients don't want to stretch at all," he said, explaining his odd reaction. "One guy said, 'If I have to stretch on my own, then what am I paying you for?'"But yeah," he added, "the more the better. For sure."***Last week's column demonstrated the proper way to stretch and encouraged you to do so - even if it wasn't prescribed by a health care practitioner. I shared my first encounter with my chiropractor so you know that I know the general opinion about stretching. But there's a second reason to tell you about my chiropractor.I no longer require his care. At least I haven't needed to see him since February.Initially, I needed to see him twice a month and "needed" is the proper word. Back then, a realignment would allow me to ride with minimal discomfort for 10 days or so. But then - like clockwork - that toothache-like pain would return, and so would I to my chiropractor.Not only to receive treatment, but also to ask questions. His answers triggered all sorts of experimentation with my stretching routine.First, I purchased a hard-core foam roller, the Rumble Roller, to perform deep-tissue massage to break up scar tissue, release some muscle knots, and relax the interminable tension in the muscles pressed against stainless steel screws and titanium rods in my right leg. Next, I incorporated a number of yoga poses that seemed to really relax my hips and glutes.Eventually, I reduced my time and degree of intensity on the Rumble Roller. I had been so intent on "grinding up" the gristle-like junk jamming up my joints that sometimes I was sore the next day. Finally, I altered my total amount of stretching time based on the type of workout I was about to do or had just done.These changes allowed me to increase the time between chiropractor visits from once a month to twice every three months to once every two months. When a scheduling conflict caused me to cancel a session and I realized I was feeling really good, I decided to only reschedule once I felt really bad.And that hasn't happened yet.Currently, I typically stretch for five minutes upon awakening, five minutes before a weightlifting session or a weekday bicycle ride, after rides if I feel I need it, and 15 minutes total in two different sessions before a weekend ride - which is then followed by 15 minutes of deep-tissue massage on the Rumble Roller.If a bit more than two hours a week sounds like too much time to spend on stretching, you're right. Since my current goals and prior injuries are less than typical, my stretching needs to be that way, too.But I've created some five-minutes-per-day programs that have worked wonders for others, and I'm sure you could piece together a similar program that would help you.Here are a few hypothetical how-to's.If you're relatively young and run as your primary type of exercise, you might do five minutes of stretching for the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings after every run, and five minutes of full-body stretching on non-running days. If you're a runner but not so young, you may benefit more by stretching before you run, stretching both before and after you run, and/or doubling the time allotment.If you're a runner who's battled shin splints in the past, you may need to stretch a single muscle that lies at the front of the shin and attaches to several bones in the foot, the tibialis anterior, for five minutes a day for a month or so before doing anything else.Ultimately, the point to all the hypotheticals is that - unless you have a traumatic injury that requires medical attention - through trial and error you should be to create a stretching program that helps you get more from your exercise.Continue to tweak it and the benefits will continue to accrue. You'll begin to feel better during all parts of the day and that should improve your outlook and attitude, too.I know I feel better during all parts of the day since I've fine tuned my present stretching routine. That's why I'm such a believer in everyone - not just hard-core exercisers - stretching regularly.Contact Kevin Kolodziejski at

kolo@ptd.net