A lot has been said recently about stretching. Stretching has been said to reduce injury, increase injury, and have no effect on injuries. It’s been said to increase performance, decrease performance, and have no effect on performance. We’ve been told to stretch prior to sport participation and we’ve been told that stretching before sport participation has no advantages. Hold your stretches, don’t hold your stretches, move while your stretching, stretch after working out, stretch before your workout- many thoughts and lots of confusion. Do we stretch or not during warm-up?
The positive aspect is that stretching is being evaluated with scientific research. The negative aspect is that there is more confusion among athletes as to what to do with stretching. I would like to give a couple of key thoughts regarding how an athlete should stretch.
1. Don’t confuse stretching with warming up. These can be two different activities.
2. Stretching isn’t the only way to warm up.
3. There are different types of “stretching.”
Stretching, the way many athletes think of it, is done by lengthening a muscle into a range where discomfort it felt and then held for a period of time. This is best described as passive static stretching. Recent research has shown that passive static stretching immediately before high speed or power athletic moves such as jumping, hitting a golf ball, or sprinting can reduce performance.1,2 Some research has indicated that stretching before sport participation does not reduce overall injury but may reduce muscle and tendon injury.3 Many parents, coaches, and athletes have interpreted that the information specific to stretching implies that a warm up does not improve performance or decrease injury. However, remember, stretching is not a warm up. Stretching can be a component of a warm up or a cool down and should be used differently based on the application.
The purpose of a warm-up should be to increase body temperature and therefore blood flow to prepare the body for sports activity. Research has shown warm-ups that include activities other than stretching were effective in improving athletic performance.4 Dynamic warm up means the athlete is continuously moving. Moving muscles into a lengthened position while other muscles are stabilizing is appropriate and effective for preparing the body sports activity. In fact, one study has shown that aerobic activity before and following stretching improves range of motion and performance more than stretching alone or aerobics alone.5 Another study indicated that the negative effects of static stretching on sports performance can be eliminated if sports specific activities are completed after stretching and prior to participation in the sport.2
So what does all this mean? Do we stretch or not during warm ups? My recommendations for a warm up are:
5-10 minutes of a cardiovascular activity,
select static stretching to defined problem areas,
dynamic/moving stretches (such as walking lunges with alternating arm elevation and alternating trunk rotation), and
high intensity sport specific activities (such as off-ice jump progressions and landing positions for figure skaters.)
References
1. Gergley JC. Latent effect of passive static stretching on driver clubhead speed, distance, accuracy, and consistent ball contact in young male competitive golfers. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Dec;24(12):3326-33.
2. Taylor KL, Sheppard JM, Lee H, Plummer N. Negative effect of static stretching restored when combined with a sport specific warm-up component. J Sci Med Sport. 2009 Nov;12(6):657-61. Epub 2008 Sep 3.
3. Small K, Mc Naughton L, Matthews M. A systematic review into the efficacy of static stretching as part of a warm-up for the prevention of exercise-related injury. Res Sports Med. 2008;16(3):213-31.
4. Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Jan;24(1):140-8.
5. Murphy JR, Di Santo MC, Alkanani T, Behm DG. Aerobic activity before and following short-duration static stretching improves range of motion and performance vs. a traditional warm-up. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Oct;35(5):679-90.
Author:
Bryan Ryndak PT, MHS, OCS, CSCS
Owner, Ryndak Physical Therapy
ptmhs@comcast.net