Does Stretching Accomplish Anything?

I learned this just last summer. I used to stretch for every thing. NOw I dont. I only stretch my legs before runs or cardio. I do warm up movements instead of stretching when I going to perform lifts.

I tend to agree with the assertion that stretching is usually more harmful than helpful. Holding a static pose, such as a toe touch, will elongate the myofascial (muscle) tissues much like when stretching a rubber band. If you hold a rubber band in a stretch for long enough it will remain stretched without snapping back into its normal place or having the same elasticity.

Muscles are much the same way, which is why there is little evidence of stretching aiding in the prevention of injury. Muscles that have been elongated (deformed) are less capable of restoring or absorbing elastic energy - which is why we see muscle tears and joint injuries in super-flexible athletes like dancers.

Are there benefits to static stretching? Yes, I think so. But there is too much misinfomation out there for someone to safely and effectively "stretch out" before or after exercise. A professional should be consulted for proper instruction.

Yoga is a step in the right direction, depending on the instructor. But it can still be misused and is excessively here in our Western culture. Example, true yoga is not the pursuit of more flexibility. Yoga is NOT stretching. A better way of putting it is that yoga is the balance of strength and surrender. Strength to get into a difficult pose, hold it, and pass through it. Surrender in that you allow the antagonist muscles to relax and sometimes be stretched. There are many other physiological goals of true yoga than just being flexible - and flexibility is is only of value up to a certain level.

Another point of interest is that the flexibility of a muscle tissue is dependent on the mobility of the adjacent joints. Food for thought.

John Sifferman NSCA-CPT
Fitness Professional

That's what I love about research. Just when you think it's good to eat marg...oops, no butter is better for you. Or eggs are really bad.....or now, wait up... maybe they're good for you. When you think it's good to stretch..... hey, not so fast, maybe it isn't. If we didn't take ourselves so seriously, I'm sure there would have to be some room for having a giggle at all the contrary findings. So now the big question is....oh hell what do I do about my daily yoga????

John, excellent comments on yoga.

Over the years people have adapted the yoga poses to be ends unto themselves, like "how intensely can I perform this posture?" After 25 years of practice and study, I think that the yoga poses are in preparation for the ultimate pose, the "firm and relaxed" meditative posture described in the Yoga Sutra. If you are training to sit for long periods of time, it is essential that certain muscle are flexible and giving. Hence, static stretching, conscientiously performed, is the way to go.

On the other hand, if you are training to give the body maximum reach and potential in an active sport, like tennis for example, then dynamic stretching is the way to go.

I never stretch unless I'm in a class and that's what we're all doing. Otherwise a couple of minutes of warmup works just fine for me.

Another blog topic taken from myfitnessguide dot net. At least it tells me you've subscribed to my rss :)

Something that is overlooked with all the stretching for function, etc thinking, is that some people just like to stretch because it feels good. It's like an active meditation that they like to do with mental as well as physical benefits. Unfortunately, I am not one of them :-(

for me, stretching is not so much about injury prevention as it is about making my body more lean. yes, flexibility is helpful, but so is moving the body and holding poses as a release mechanism for tension and stressors. I am more pointed about my post-workout of static stretches mixed with calisthenics. If I skip it, I am prone to headaches and other bodyaches. for instance, I have found that I have muscle spasms in my back and legs more often than I would if I had taken the 15-20 minutes to help my body ease into rest after a big cardio session.

for me, helping my body move towards a state of relaxation through stretching and controlled breathing is meditative, and, I also like to think that it helps burn calories. . .does anyone have research on that, I wonder. . .?

p.s. thanks to Cari above for her humorous take on research findings!! it's so true -- how do you know what will be right for *you* the individual? not all findings can be generalized. . .

I always stretch after my workout & I do another set of stretches later in the day after a warm up. I NEVER stretch before a workout when the muscles are cold which can lead to injury. As I get older, my flexibility has really changed & without the stretching exercises I do, it would really effect my intense workout routine of cardio (various forms including intervals) along with 4 days of weight training that is like a workout of people half my age. In my opinion, experts may say stretching may not help, but coming from someone that has been doing it for years to keep my body pliable & flexible, it certainly helps me for all my workout activities & more. I can only imagine how hard it would be to do some every day activities with my hamstrings & other body parts tighter than tight. It is way too easy to pull muscles & I think stretching has helped me with his along with my workouts. AND,even with all my stretching, age still effects that so I feel it is a good time investment.

Having some flexibility may be important. There is some evidence, in the elderly, that lack of flexibility further increases the risk of injury when a fall occurs. I would suspect when making a sudden movements such as trying grab something that you knocked over, that a pulled muscle is more likely in somebody who is stiff than somebody with some flexibility.

Check out this NYT article and watch the video about stretching before doing a sport.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html

To me doing yoga (Iyengar) is not about flexibility, but concentrating on the alignment. All other thoughts are gone, it is a form of meditation.

I always wonder this myself. Being a very flexible person, my trainer told me I never had to stretch before exercising, however that just didn't sound right to me.

Hi,

I believe stretching is extremely important post your work out.It helps muscles relax and causes lesser muscle sours the next day.
Your regular strength training is a warmup by itself.

I think that stretching is incredibley important. If you stretch, and you work your muscles a little bit too, then it keeps up the strength to alow your muscles to exert elasticity without any loss from stretching. But, before a workout, if your muscles have NOT been stretched and they are stiff, it is hard to pull out their strength while working out.

I play basketball and and for me stretching is key

I do sedentary work and stretching, solved myself the problems in the back

Coming from a karate background, I always had to balance the need to be able to kick high with the muscles ability to perform. I usually did this by warming up first as opposed to heavy stretching.

I would throw slow swinging kicks for my most common moves and then do some slow-relaxed sparring first. Towards the end of the workouts is when I would take more time and try to improve my flexibility. I always thought this made sense.

As far as the study cited that reported a loss of strength after stretching. I don't know what to make of it as it was a really small young population size studied. I wonder why they bothered to do the study as it is cannot possibly prove anything.

Being able to stretch further seems to help me not with lifting, but in every day life. I have a wider range of motion and I feel that makes me less likely to strain muscles doing every day activities.

I find that stretching after exercise is helpful to prevent soreness, esp if you just started doing a particular exercise. whether or not studies have proven that it prevents injuries, it does prevent soreness (and will make it more likely that you will do that exercise again since you won't be walking around complaining about how sore you are!)