Is stretching before exercise harmful?
Stretching before fitness training and athletic training is being made out to be a time-waster, not needed, and even harmful. This is not true. In fact, there's a recent study that evaluates all the research on stretching, and the study concludes:
the researchers are telling us that there are not enough quality
studies to draw conclusions about this issue.
Study in question
The study that is generating all the hoopla was performed by the Kapooka Health Centre, New South Wales, Australia on 1,538 army recruits. It's a creditable study designed to show the occurrence of lower limb injury on a group of young army recruits. Despite what you may have heard about stretching before training, this is what the researchers actually reported:
The statement, "Fitness may be an important, modifiable risk factor" is very important. It simply means that age, weight, and conditioning of the study subjects may be an important factor in preventing or facilitating the injuries experienced in this study.
after the Kapooka study, another study involving military recruits
was conducted and the researchers in this study show that pre-training
static stretching can PREVENT injury involving muscle but not joint
or bone injury. The researchers report, "Static stretching
decreased the incidence of muscle-related injuries but did not prevent
bone or joint injuries," (Effect
of static stretching on prevention of injuries for military recruits,
on the way some have written about this study, it's okay to run
a 100 meter sprint full speed without stretching beforehand. Now,
this may be possible for a small number of lean, young army recruits.
However, does anyone believe that a powerful, muscled-up athlete
or a middle-aged and older adult can go out and run a sprint - cold
with no warm-up - without increased risk of injury? Don't think
Think about it; if an out-of-shape, untrained young army recruit performs high-intensity exercise, he may get injured, pre-stretched or not. And this is why researchers evaluating all the research on stretching conclude, "No definitive conclusions can be drawn..."
In short, there
needs to be a body of research based on age, weight, conditioning,
and the study needs to be performed functionally for the specific
sport and type of exercise before life-changing conclusions are
The truth about stretching
New research shows that stretching can aid in the prevention of injury of stress fractures that plague distance runners. Researchers conclude;
Stretching offers many benefits. Researchers show that prolonged stretching (in the form of yoga) with moderate aerobic exercise and diet control will reduce cholesterol and significantly reverse hardening of the arteries (20 percent regression) in adults with proven coronary atherosclerotic disease.
After one year in a yoga program, participants lost weight, reduced cholesterol, and improved their exercise capacity, (Retardation of coronary atherosclerosis with yoga lifestyle intervention, 2000, Manchanda).
many benefits, but there is an issue about the type of stretching
and the timing of stretching before training and athletic competitions.
dynamic stretching before games
There are two main types of stretching, static (holding a stretching exercise in one position without movement) and dynamic stretching, which means moving while stretching (arm swings, knee rotations, neck circles).
Researchers show that athletes should not perform prolonged static stretching before the big game or a key practice session because this slows muscle activation for around an hour afterwards, (Reduced strength after passive stretch of the human plantar flexors, 2000, Fowles). Using dynamic stretching is a wise pre-competition strategy.
Static stretching builds flexibility and should be performed regularly, just not immediately before a big game or a key practice session.
Warming up prior
to a high-intensity, ballistic, athletic event is an absolute rule
- never to be broken, and stretching can be combined (multi-tasked)
as part of the warm-up. The goal of the warm-up is to get the blood
flowing and raise body temperature (one degree) prior to athletic
competitions and high-intensity training. It's desirable to have
the athlete's muscle, ligaments, and joints experience the functional
range of motion required of the sport during the warm-up.
static stretching with 30-second
Gains in flexibility are dependent on the "duration" of stretch-hold position, and researchers show the best "stretch-hold position" (for time-spent) to increase flexibility is 30 seconds. (The effect of time on static stretch on the flexibility of the hamstring muscles, 1994, Bandy). "Best" means optimal results for time-spent. You can get positive results with 2 minute stretch-holds, but 30 seconds yields equal results.
This type of stretching is positive for athletes and adults of all ages. Researchers show in one study that longer hold stretching positions are of great benefit for adults over age 65,
"Longer hold times during stretching of the hamstring muscles resulted in a greater rate of gains in range of motion (ROM) and a more sustained increase in ROM in elderly subjects." (The effect of duration of stretching of the hamstring muscle group for increasing range of motion in people aged 65 years or older, 2001, Feland).
Adults ages 21 to 45 with tight hamstrings also get the best results from static stretching with 30-second stretch-hold positions. Researchers report that static stretching is two times more effective than dynamic range of motion (DROM) for this group of non-competitive athletes. Researchers report,
of this study suggest that, although both static stretch and DROM
(dynamic stretching) will increase hamstring flexibility, a 30-second
static stretch was more effective than the newer technique,"
DROM, for enhancing flexibility. (The
effect of static stretch and dynamic range of motion training on
the flexibility of the hamstring muscles, 2001, Bandy).
While it's reasonable
to conclude (as I have for training purposes) that static stretching
away from practice is an effective strategy for adults with tight
hamstrings, this study doesn't specifically prove that point. It's
clearly a mistake to take the findings of one study and create an
absolute fact. Look at the whole body of research about a topic
before making a life-changing training decision.
The take home
1. Use dynamic stretching and static stretching at the correct times in the training plan.
2. Dynamic stretching (arm swings, hip rotations, knee rotations) will aid in the pre-competition, pre-practice warm-up process by increasing flexion in the joints and increasing body temperature. This method is preferred before athletic competition.
3. Static stretching
can be used as part of a warm-up for training. However, static stretching
will slightly slow down athletes for an hour afterwards so examine
your training goals. The best way to improve overall flexibility
is static stretching with 30 second stretch-holds performed away
from events requiring peak performance.
Have a great day!
Campbell, M.S., M.A., FACHE
Institutes of Health research cited in newsletter,
Chapter 6, Flexibility Fundamentals - Ready, Set, GO! Synergy Fitness for Time-Crunched Adults
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NOTE: The purpose of this newsletter is to expand thinking about fitness as an informational source for readers, and is not medical advice. Before attempting the Synergy Fitness program, the Sprint 8 Workout, or any high-intensity exercise program, consult your physician. This is not just a liability warning; it's wise to have a baseline medical exam before beginning a fitness program. Make your physician a partner in your fitness improvement plan.