Everything You Need To Know About Stretching

It seems that people just can’t get enough info on stretching. So, here’s even more info on stretching: when it’s appropriate, what it really means to stretch, and why you shouldn’t be holding your stretches before a big run.

Wait a minute, stretching is bad for you, right?

Didn’t you read our last stretching article? No? Go ahead, check it out, I’ll wait.

Back? Okay, let’s go into greater detail here. That’s actually a fairly complicated question. The simple answer is that stretching for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time, and the wrong way is bad for you.

Not appropriate before a run, so stop it! Post-run? Then yes, continue doing this move.

Okay, so when is it appropriate?

Stretching is appropriate when you lack the range of motion, or flexibility, to do the movements that you want to do. These movements could be squatting all the way down to your heels, or simply reaching behind you to the back seat of the car when you are belted in. Just like with many things, it’s all dependent upon your particular goals. Some people actually need to stretch just to be able to do normal daily activities. They have either gotten stiff over the years, or they’ve had some type of injury.

When is the right time?

If you are doing a warm up for an activity, you probably don’t want to hold a stretch for a long time (static stretching).

This is probably where people have gotten the idea that stretching is a bad thing. Static stretching before a sporting activity has been shown to decrease your muscle strength and power (for a short time afterwards). So, don’t do it then! A general body warm up with active motion through the joints you are going to be using is more appropriate for that time.

So when is the right time for a good static stretch? After your workout or training session is a good time. Your body temperature will be higher and you will benefit from that warmth to lengthen the tissues you want to work on.

What’s the right way?

There’s all kinds of variations of stretching – it’ll make your head spin in confusion! Contract-relax, ballistic, weight-assisted, and good old “sit there and hold it for 30 seconds” …

So which variation should you use? Well really, unless you have serious injuries and are under the supervision of someone that knows what they are doing (and that’s another discussion entirely…), there’s nothing wrong with the basic static stretching model that has been used for many years. This is why we teach this in the GMB Flexibility Module. It works for most people, most of the time, and can be taught and applied correctly and safely for the average person.

So, maybe if I don’t have a particular reason to stretch, then I don’t need to?

Maybe not. If you’re engaging in a regular exercise program that takes you through full ranges of motion for your joints and you don’t have any difficulties, then that may be enough stretching for you.

Take a simple pushup, for example. Done in proper form, this takes your chest and anterior shoulder muscles through their full range. We all often notice that the first set (or reps) feels a little tighter in the beginning, then it feels like you free up more. Congratulations, you’ve “stretched” out! This is why such blanket statements as “stretching is bad for you”, don’t really make sense.

Does stretching help to prevent injury/soreness?

There is very little evidence that stretching, in general, prevents injury or soreness in muscles. Pretty much all the research regarding whether stretching after exercise reduces DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) says it doesn’t help at all. And I buy this, based on personal experience, and also from the reasoning that whatever damage that triggers the pain of DOMS would unlikely be alleviated by stretching.

The studies that have been done in regards to “injury prevention” looked at rates of injury in those that worked on flexibility exercises vs. those that haven’t (and usually with the metric of injuries occurring in the sporting activity). There’s a bit of a problem with this, because again, it makes sense that there are some specifics left out of that equation. It depends on the individual and the nature of the sport. The person may already have flexibility that is adequate for the performance of the activity. For example, running is what we call a “midrange” activity. Most runners’ knees and hips don’t go through a full range of motion (even in people with the longest running strides). What does this mean? You don’t have to be very flexible to run (and a lot of runners aren’t). So stretching wouldn’t really help prevent injuries there.

But imagine a sport like wrestling or jiujitsu where your opponent is attempting to bend you like a pretzel. If your shoulder is forced into a position, and you have less than adequate flexibility (and strength, of course) you’re more likely to be injured. It makes sense that some appropriate flexibility work there would have been helpful, and should thus be incorporated into a training routine.

Are there any other benefits to stretching besides improving range of motion?

Well, whether psychological or physiological (most likely a little bit of both), proper stretching tends to feel good. Not very scientific I know, but it’s true!

The same mechanisms that temporarily reduce strength and power output in a statically stretched muscle, also work in promoting relaxation in that same area. This is why stretching out after a good workout feels good. The tension buildup from working out can be alleviated with a nice stretch. This also happens in a muscle that is chronically “tight” -  direct stretching to the muscle decreases that hypertonicity and, at least for a little while, helps you to feel better.

When you can move more freely after stretching, does that mean your muscles/tendons/ligaments are actually longer?

As we’ve mentioned here before, stretching as a means of increasing range of motion most likely doesn’t “stretch fibers out”, but is more a neurological decrease in muscle tonus.

In fact, you really don’t want to stretch your tendons and ligaments to a significantly greater length. You may end up compromising your joint’s stability. Imagine a rubber band that has been overstretched and doesn’t spring back to its original length, but sags and loses its elasticity. You can see how that would be bad in structures that are supposed to be holding your joints together.

So maybe stretching isn’t all that bad for you?

Yes, we think stretching is good thing, in most cases!

Putting This Information To Use

Again, we’re always here to help, so feel free to ask any additional questions that come up as you read this article. We’ll post our responses below, in typical lightning-fast GMB style.

Photo via Tobyotter

Jarlo Ilano

GMB Content Manager - Jarlo is our resident Physical Therapist, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, and martial arts instructor. He writes articles and manuals and keeps us clear of any BS.

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