Stretching – Help or Hinderance

When Famously Homme asked me about stretching, whether he should do it and how often, I immediately responded that he should stretch out his muscles after every gym workout – that is what I have been trained to say as a qualified personal trainer and fitness instructor!

But then I thought I would do a bit more research on the subject, and was amazed at how much debate there actually is about the benefits of stretching, especially for athletes.

Before reading on, look at my feature "What Happens to Muscles, Tendons and Ligaments"

Here is a summary of my research

• Stretching DOES NOT improve athletic performance
• Stretching DOES NOT significantly reduce the risk of injury - indeed too much flexibility can result in injury
• Stretching CAN mask muscle pain or injury that requires specialist treatment
• Stretching BEFORE exercise, without a warm up, is more likely to cause injury than prevent it – it can tear tiny muscle fibers
• Stretching BEFORE exercise, without a warm up, is likely to put the muscle into spasm
• Overstretching CAN cause damage to the ligaments, tendons and muscle fibre
• TOO MUCH flexibility or TOO LITTLE flexibility can cause higher rates of injury
• Stretching CAN improve flexibility and range of motion in the joints – especially as you get older
• Stretching CAN improve circulation by increasing blood flow to the muscles which in turn shortens recovery time from muscle injury
• Stretching CAN improve circulation and lubrication to the joints
• Stretching CAN reduce muscle soreness – marginally
• Neglecting stretching in resistance training CAN sacrifice flexibility – which may later restrict normal flexibility and movement
• Stretching CAN help to improve posture – tight muscles especially in the back can result in poor posture
• Stretching CAN reduce stress by relaxing tight, tense muscles
• Stretching CAN help to improve balance

My conclusions

The main purpose of stretching appears to be the maintenance of mobility and flexibility around the joints in order to perform a normal range of motion.

Stretching has a balance of benefits and disadvantages – it all depends on who is doing the stretching, in what context and for what purpose……… Not everyone needs the flexibility of a dancer and not everyone is motivated to contort themselves into challenging yoga positions. Nearly all of us want to maintain general flexibility for daily living – to be able to bend down and do up our shoe laces!

On balance, I retain the view that, following a muscular workout, a brief and gentle stretch of all of the muscles used will be of benefit - especially if there is a risk that the full range of motion was not being used in the exercises themselves, leaving the muscles in a contracted state

Coming Soon - More on Flexibility and Why Muscles Ache After Exercise