March 31, 2004
What! Stretching doesn't work?

THERESA: Here's amazing news. I don't have to stretch before I run? A new study shows there's no benefit to stretching in terms of avoiding injury.

Of all the health studies I've heard recently, this seems the most dubious to me. I'm adamant about stretching, and I truly believe it helps me avoid aches and pains and knee strain. What do all you think about stretching and this news that it may be a waste of time?

JILL: I think it's really hard to give up a conviction that you've believed in your entire life, because that's what you've been told. So I'll go on believing that stretching helps prevent injury, whether it hold up under scientific scrutiny or not.

LAURIE: Isn't stretching just a good thing to do for its own merits? I hate when these studies come out and tell us something is wrong when all our instincts say it's right. And it seems that this finding is germaine only to certain sports.

JENICE: Weeeeell, I used to run without stretching. I also used to wear any ole kinda shoes. And I got away with it, without sustaining any noticeable injuries. But as I've, er, matured I've come to appreciate what a good stretch does for you in terms of keeping you limber. Thanks to all the stretching I do in karate, my knees don't pop any more. If I stumble, I catch myself quickly. Staying Ioose makes me feel young and lithe. So, I'm just going to ignore this study and keep on stretching.


Comments

I have to say from personal experience that stretching does help me. When I didn't stretch, I had so much lower back pain when I ran that I couldn't stick with it. Now that I stretch regularly, I have zero back pain, and have been able to run 16-20 miles per week. My favorite stretch is one I learned from pilates. Lay on your back and lift your legs over your head until you touch your toes to the floor behind your head. It takes a lot of practice, but I ALWAYS had neck and shoulder pain from sitting at a computer all day. This stretch has eliminated it. So, as far as I'm concerned, I'll keep stretching.

Posted by: Wendy on March 31, 2004 12:50 PM

The latest I've heard, which comes from Runner's World among other places, is that you should not stretch before running, but take a 5-10 minute warm-up, then stretch, and stretch at the end of a run too. I used to stretch at the start of a run, but have since changed to stretch at the end. I don't always stretch after a warm-up run though. I have definitely noticed that I get a deeper stretch after having run.

Posted by: Seth Weiss on March 31, 2004 02:48 PM

Okay....I'm not a girl. I am however, a veteran of almost 200 road races including 5 marathons. I recently suffered from plantar fasciitis (frequent running injury) and after 2 years of injections, physical therapy and $800 worth of orthotics.....a stretching program "made the difference". Art Carey recommended "The Stark Reality of Stretching" ($20 at any good book store) and following the advice of this book, I'm once again "on the roads". Stretching works!

Posted by: Frank Messenger on April 1, 2004 08:58 AM

Thanks, Frank! We welcome your expertise any time! And I'm with you-- I KNOW stretching works!

Posted by: Theresa on April 1, 2004 10:24 AM

I have removed stretching from my routine after reading that stretching was orginally designed as an isometric (remember the 50's) way to warm up muscles. Recently I have found Slow Burn exercising (Stu Mittleman) and have been able to go from a non-runner with lots of apin after streching to 24 miles a week without knee or hip pain at 44! Stu suggests that starting out slowly warms up the muscles to the same extent as a strech but wihtout the risk in streching that you can over do it> ( A warm up means up to the first mile starting at a brisk walk) Think about it, when streching muscles to warm them you strech ligaments that are imprtant to keep joints in place. Everyone knows that loose joints are a prescrition for injury.

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