Stretching before exercise 'can cause harm'

[BERIGAN]

I find not exercising keeps me from pulling my hammy!

Stretching before exercise 'can cause harm'

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

28 September 2004

You see them everywhere, people yanking an ankle behind their back before setting off on a jog. It looks like sensible preparation for exercise, but it may do more harm than good. Not only does it fail to reduce the risk of injury, it may also hinder performance.

Research on 23 studies of athletes who performed stretch exercises before performance tests of sporting performance showed nearly all had a bad effect. One study showed that static stretching before a jump test reduced the maximum height by three-quarters of an inch. A review of six studies of stretching before exercise found that not one demonstrated it prevented injury. Ian Shrier, a Canadian epidemiologist who conducted both reviews, in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, said: "At first people thought I was crazy." But other researchers had since reached similar conclusions, he said.

The best way to prevent injury and prepare for exercise was to do a proper warm-up routine to get blood flowing to the muscles, he said. Doing calf stretches before a run does not benefit the leg muscles because they are never stretched in the extreme position while running. Almost all over-use injuries are strains that occur when the body is in the normal range of motion and are the result of improper training.

But stretching should not be ruled out. Dr Shrier, of the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, found seven other studies which showed how regular stretching exercises included as part of an exercise routine improved performance. "If one stretches, one should stretch after exercise or at a time not related to exercise," Dr Shrier said.

James Brown, a specialist in sports medicine in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and spokesman for the UK Association of Doctors in Sport, said: "Stretching before exercise probably increases the risk of injury. Your muscles are never going to get warm. Unfortunately you do still see people doing it everywhere. You won't see elite athletes doing it. They will do a warm-up. If you go jogging or to the gym at lunchtime there is no need to stretch first."

WARMING UP

* Start with a gentle warm-up, of the muscles you plan to use

* Increasing blood flow to muscles gets them contracting the way they will need to for the exercise

* Stretching after exercise is recommended

* Static stretching can stiffen muscles

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_me...sp?story=566457

[wesbed]

When I go running I don't stretch anything first. I do a little walking to get the blood flowing. Then I start running. No stretching required.

[Jazzmoose]

I'm still waiting for "Vegetables Linked to Cancer" myself....

[JSngry]

James Brown...said: "Stretching before exercise probably increases the risk of injury"

Well, if anybody would know...

[Dan Gould]

I used to never stretch, but had a steady experience (at least twice every every season) where after swinging the bat, the first step out of the batter's box would injure my hamstring or quad, and this happened batting righty or lefty, so it didn't matter which foot I pushed off of.

I started doing intensive stretching before game time and it stopped happening.

[take5]

I've taken a shine to stretching after exercising, not before, to limit soreness. And yes, a warm-up is very helpful.

[Dr. Rat]

I find stretching cold muscles is dangerous. I've hurt myself a couple of times while stretching (not badly, but . . .).

If I'm going to play soccer I usually run around and pretend like I can handle the ball or play hacky-sack for a few minutes and then stretch, then more running around and more stretching.

You can feel that it is more effective this way.

No major muscle injuries yet, knock wood.

--eric

Edited September 28, 2004 by Dr. Rat

[ghost of miles]

I'm still waiting for "Vegetables Linked to Cancer" myself....

... not to mention the inevitable "living leads to dying" revelation!

[Noj]

I don't stretch before I play basketball, never have. I drink a lot of water and eat bananas prior to playing, and take it easy warming up.

[J Larsen]

This keeps popping up as "news" every few months. I think physiologists now generally agree that stretching is best saved for after exercise. I think it was Johns Hopkins that did a major study published last year that found no correlation between pre-exercise stretching and reduced risk of injury. The key point they reported was that they found that the overwhelming number of sports/exercise related injuries occur within the normal range of motion, hence the underlying issue for most injuries is lack of strength, not lack of agility. At least, that's what my old trainer told me.

[Tim McG]

If I didn't stretch out before racquetball...I'd be a cramped up cripple.

[Templejazz]

I think it all depends on what sort of exercise.

I've been actively on a weight-training program for about 5 months and stretching is a must. ('The 14 Day Body Sculpting Bible for Men' just in case anybody's curious, GOOD BOOK!)

For free weight exercises to be most effective, one must implement the most complete range of motion in order to stimulate the muscle groups through and through. This can only be done through about 6-7 minutes of warming up and stretching, that order of course. Like Dr. Rat mentioned, stretching cold muscles is dangerous; in fact the above mentioned body sculpting book compares stretching cold muscles to trying to stretch a rubber band that has been placed in the freezer for a bit of time. Big no-no.

Since I own a bench and dumbbell set, I do everything in my apt. Before I do my upper body workout, I perform about 75-100 medium tempo jumping jacks, I jog in place for a minute or to and then do a little shadow boxing. After that I do arm circles and then move onto some other stretches with my back, forearms and shoulders. Chest too. I don't stretch again after but I probably should.

[rachel]

I'm still waiting for "Vegetables Linked to Cancer" myself....

[rachel]

James Brown...said: "Stretching before exercise probably increases the risk of injury"

Well, if anybody would know...

[Tjazz]

I thought the only exercise boardmembers here were doing is lifting CDs and LPs home to play.

[Dr. Rat]

I thought the only exercise boardmembers here were doing is lifting CDs and LPs home to play.

But for this we need to train!

--eric