Do You Stretch?

[Canadian Crippler]

Do You Stretch?

I definately do. I do it mainly because I need to be flexible for both pro wrestling and amateur wrestling. But I also do it because it prevents possible injury, and I also dont want to be bulky.

[dsuh]

only before workouts to loose up the muscles

[PedestrianX]

Also stretchign wont prevent you form getting bulky.

[restless]

It doesn't prevent injury either.

[TheGimp]

I got into stretching after taking a martial arts class which placed a lot of emphasis on lower body flexibility in order to improve moves such as kicking.

Here's a great website on stretching. Quoting the section as to why bodybuilders should stretch:

One of the best times to stretch is right after a strength workout such as weightlifting. Static stretching of fatigued muscles (see section Static Stretching) performed immediately following the exercise(s) that caused the fatigue, helps not only to increase flexibility, but also enhances the promotion of muscular development (muscle growth), and will actually help decrease the level of post-exercise soreness. Here's why:

After you have used weights (or other means) to overload and fatigue your muscles, your muscles retain a "pump" and are shortened somewhat. This "shortening" is due mostly to the repetition of intense muscle activity that often only takes the muscle through part of its full range of motion. This "pump" makes the muscle appear bigger. The "pumped" muscle is also full of lactic acid and other by-products from exhaustive exercise. If the muscle is not stretched afterward, it will retain this decreased range of motion (it sort of "forgets" how to make itself as long as it could) and the buildup of lactic acid will cause post-exercise soreness. Static stretching of the "pumped" muscle helps it to become "looser", and to "remember" its full range of movement. It also helps to remove lactic acid and other waste-products from the muscle. While it is true that stretching the "pumped" muscle will make it appear visibly smaller, it does not decrease the muscle's size or inhibit muscle growth. It merely reduces the "tightness" (contraction) of the muscles so that they do not "bulge" as much.

Also, strenuous workouts will often cause damage to the muscle's connective tissue. The tissue heals in 1 to 2 days but it is believed that the tissues heal at a shorter length (decreasing muscular development as well as flexibility). To prevent the tissues from healing at a shorter length, physiologists recommend static stretching after strength workouts.

Furthermore

It doesn't prevent injury either.

Is simply incorrect.

When the connective tissue of a muscle is weak, it is more likely to become damaged due to overstretching, or sudden, powerful muscular contractions.

Anyone got the pic of Ronnie Coleman doing the splits?

[ogarchamplin]

It doesn't prevent injury either.

CDC research finds no evidence stretching prevents injuries
Monday, March 29, 2004 Posted: 10:46 AM EST (1546 GMT)




WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stretching does not live up to its reputation as an injury preventer, a survey has found.

"We could not find a benefit," said Stephen B. Thacker, director of the epidemiology program office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Athletes who stretch might feel more limber, but they shouldn't count on stretching to keep them healthy, he said.

Thacker and four CDC colleagues combed research databases for studies that had compared stretching with other ways to prevent training injuries. They combined data from five studies so they could look more closely for any benefits that might emerge as a pattern. Their report is in the March issue of the American College of Sports Medicine journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

People who stretched were no more or less likely to suffer injuries such as pulled muscles, which the increased flexibility that results from stretching is supposed to prevent, researchers found. And the injuries found in the study typically happened within the muscle's normal range of motion, so stretching them would not have made a difference, Thacker said.

Other research has found that warmups, which increase blood flow through the muscle and make it more ready to respond to exercise, can reduce the risk of injury, Thacker said. Being in good shape also helps. Strength and balance training reduced injuries as well, he said.

People such as gymnasts and dancers might be exceptions, because their activities require great flexibility, so stretching might improve their performance, Thacker said.

In case future research does find a benefit, Thacker has no problem with athletes continuing to do gentle stretching. That's not the case with stretches that include sudden fast movements, called "ballistic stretches," which have been found in other studies to raise injury risks.

The study's findings make sense, said Mike Bracko, director of the Institute for Hockey Research in Calgary, Alberta. "We have done some work with hockey players showing flexibility is not an important variable," he said.

A strain typically happens when a muscle has to react suddenly to control an athlete's movement, Bracko said. An example would be a tear in a muscle in the back of a sprinter's leg as it contracts to keep the muscles in the front of the leg from moving the knee too far forward, he said.

Two other researchers said, however, that there may still be value in the stretches that coaches require, and athletes do.

Lynn Millar, a professor of physical therapy at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, said her experience in treating people with injuries tells her that those who don't stretch may find they can't move their arms and legs as far as they used to, and this could set them up for injury.

"Unfortunately, a lot of us don't have a normal range of motion," Millar said.

Stephen Rice, director of the sports medicine center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, said he values the experience of trainers and athletes.

Flexibility is an element of fitness, and stretching ought to make a person more flexible, Rice said. "I would say the conventional wisdom has a certain amount of wisdom to it," he added.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[ryuage]

i heard that stretching before whatever your doing in some ways could decrease performance due to... id look for the study but im lazy

[restless]

Furthermore



Is simply incorrect.

Oh, is it?

I am basing my claims on conclusions drawn from reading scientific peer reviewed material, not on some random web site.

Stretching before exercise does not reduce the risk of local muscle injury: a critical review of the clinical and basic science literature.

Shrier I.

Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and basic science evidence surrounding the hypothesis that stretching immediately before exercise prevents injury. DATA SOURCES AND SELECTION: MEDLINE was searched using MEDLINE subject headings (MeSH) and textwords for English- and French-language articles related to stretching and muscle injury. Additional references were reviewed from the bibliographies, and from citation searches on key articles. All articles related to stretching and injury or pathophysiology of muscle injury were reviewed. Clinical articles without a control group were excluded. RESULTS: Three (all prospective) of the four clinical articles that suggested stretching was beneficial included a cointervention of warm-up. The fourth study (cross-sectional) found stretching was associated with less groin/buttock problems in cyclists, but only in women. There were five studies suggesting no difference in injury rates between stretchers and nonstretchers (3 prospective, 2 cross-sectional) and three suggesting stretching was detrimental (all cross-sectional). The review of the basic science literature suggested five reasons why stretching before exercise would not prevent injuries. First, in animals, immobilization or heating-induced increases in muscle compliance cause tissues to rupture more easily. Second, stretching before exercise should have no effect for activities in which excessive muscle length is not an issue (e.g., jogging). Third, stretching won't affect muscle compliance during eccentric activity, when most strains are believed to occur. Fourth, stretching can produce damage at the cytoskeleton level. Fifth, stretching appears to mask muscle pain in humans. CONCLUSION: The basic science literature supports the epidemiologic evidence that stretching before exercise does not reduce the risk of injury.

Effects of stretching before and after exercising on muscle soreness and risk of injury: systematic review.

Herbert RD, Gabriel M.

School of Physiotherapy, University of Sydney, PO Box 170, Lidcombe, New South Wales 1825, Australia. R.Herbert@fhs.usyd.edu.au

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of stretching before and after exercising on muscle soreness after exercise, risk of injury, and athletic performance. METHOD: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Randomised or quasi-randomised studies identified by searching Medline, Embase, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and PEDro, and by recursive checking of bibliographies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Muscle soreness, incidence of injury, athletic performance. RESULTS: Five studies, all of moderate quality, reported sufficient data on the effects of stretching on muscle soreness to be included in the analysis. Outcomes seemed homogeneous. Stretching produced small and statistically non-significant reductions in muscle soreness. The pooled estimate of reduction in muscle soreness 24 hours after exercising was only 0.9 mm on a 100 mm scale (95% confidence interval -2.6 mm to 4.4 mm). Data from two studies on army recruits in military training show that muscle stretching before exercising does not produce useful reductions in injury risk (pooled hazard ratio 0.95, 0.78 to 1.16). CONCLUSIONS: Stretching before or after exercising does not confer protection from muscle soreness. Stretching before exercising does not seem to confer a practically useful reduction in the risk of injury, but the generality of this finding needs testing. Insufficient research has been done with which to determine the effects of stretching on sporting performance.

Effect of static stretching on prevention of injuries for military recruits.

Amako M, Oda T, Masuoka K, Yokoi H, Campisi P.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Japan Self-Defense Force Beppu Hospital, 874-0828 Oita, Japan.

This prospective study was designed to evaluate whether static stretching can prevent training-related injuries in Japan Ground Self-Defense Force military recruits. A total of 901 recruits between 1996 and 1998 were divided into two groups. Of which, 518 recruits were assigned to the stretching group and practiced static stretching before and after each physical training session. The control subjects (383 recruits in the nonstretching group) did not stretch statically prior to exercise. The static stretching consisted of 18 exercises. We collected injury data from medical records and assessed the incidence and the location of injury. The total injury rate was almost the same between two groups; however, the incidences of muscle/tendon injury and low back pain were significantly lower in the stretching group (p < 0.05). Static stretching decreased the incidence of muscle-related injuries but did not prevent bone or joint injuries.

Flexibility and its effects on sports injury and performance.

Gleim GW, McHugh MP.

Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, USA. gleim@nismat.org

Flexibility measures can be static [end of ROM (range of motion)], dynamic-passive (stiffness/compliance) or dynamic-active (muscle contracted, stiffness/compliance). Dynamic measures of flexibility are less dependent on patient discomfort and are more objective. Acute and chronic changes in flexibility are likely to occur with stretching exercises, but it is difficult to distinguish between changes in stretch tolerance as opposed to changes in muscle stiffness. How flexibility is measured impacts these findings. There is no scientifically based prescription for flexibility training and no conclusive statements can be made about the relationship of flexibility to athletic injury. The literature reports opposing findings from different samples, frequently does not distinguish between strain, sprain and overuse injury, and rarely uses the proper denominator of exposure. There is basic scientific evidence to suggest that active warm-up may be protective against muscle strain injury but clinical research is equivocal on this point. Typically, specific flexibility patterns are associated with specific sports and even positions within sports. The relationship of flexibility to athletic performance is likely to be sport-dependent. Decreased flexibility has been associated with increased in-line running and walking economy. Increased stiffness may be associated with increased isometric and concentric force generation, and muscle energy storage may be best manifested by closely matching muscle stiffness to the frequency of movement in stretch-shorten type contractions

[TheGimp]

I stand corrected.

[restless]

I stand corrected.

Sometimes people should learn not to take things as absolute truths just because everyone seems to believe in them. Like stretching, there are a lot of things that are wishfull thinking at best and have no scientific data backing it up at all. Training to failure comes to my mind, but there are many more.

[TheGimp]

I agree, I apologise for my wording; I should have questioned rather than dismissed.

[Chicker]

I stretch. Haven't seen any disadvantages to it, and it sure feels good after a cardio session or a hard work out.

[ryuage]

when doing cardio I prefer to do a light warmup rather then stretch and then stretch afterwards.

[greekboy80]

I dont strech. it helps increase flexability but i dont want to be flexable.

[Canadian Crippler]

I didnt mean in weight lifting, lol. Although I am still sure it does for weight lifting, while doing other activities and sports stretching definately decreases injury.

Also, I shouldnt have used the word bulky. I meant I didnt want to be the type of a guy who is just huge and unagile.

[restless]

I didnt mean in weight lifting, lol. Although I am still sure it does for weight lifting, while doing other activities and sports stretching definately decreases injury.

That is just your personal opinion, and science tells us it has little fundament.

Also, I shouldnt have used the word bulky. I meant I didnt want to be the type of a guy who is just huge and unagile.

Weightlifting increases flexibility without need for stretching.

[Canadian Crippler]

Weightlifting increases flexibility without need for stretching.

Sorry, but that is not true at all. It may, MAY increase it a bit, but not the extent where its a sub for stretching.

That is just your personal opinion

Isnt that obvious?

[restless]

Sorry, but that is not true at all. It may, MAY increase it a bit, but not the extent where its a sub for stretching.

The problem is that most people don't know the difference between a loss of mobility resulting from abnormaly hypertrophied muscles and a loss in flexibility. I stopped doing static stretching a long time ago and not only my flexibility didn't decrease at all but it even did increase in some movements.

Isnt that obvious?

Pretty much, but my claim that stretching doesn't prevent injury is not really a personal opinion.

[Canadian Crippler]

For weight lifting, it may not be a personal opinion. But for sports and other activities, stretching does decrease injury. If your doing mat wrestling, or running the 100 metre, than wouldnt you agree loose muscles are better than tight ones?

[JTyrell710]

so stretching may not decrease injury but does it increase performance??

[MrWebb78]

regardless of how many studies someone finds that says stretching is pointless, the same amount can be found to argue in favor of it.

bottom line is do what you feel is right/comfortable. personally i have experienced more strains or pulls when not stretching. so i usually do the bike or treadmill lightly for 5-8 mins(usually bored with it by then), then some light stretching of all muscles, not just muscles im going to be working. then even some stretching after the workout. since ive been doing this i havent had any pains, pulls, stretches, tears, rips, snaps, breaks, aches, whatever.

[AllUp]

<Stretches.

[Exnor]

Weight lifting often compounds bad posture, making it much worse and possibly leading to other problems. The most common problem I have found is shortening of the pecs. Lifting weights with good/ideal posture and frequent stretching prevents this happening.

[frazz00]

i stretch after my workout, to get flexible and more loose. I also believe it makes your muscles faster

[fen2zla]

I seldom stretch. If my body feels tight then I do a few light sets of what ever exercise im going to be doing first and then do a light stretch afterwards followed by my routine for that day. It just depends on how I feel that particular day.