Posted: May 6, 2005

Multisport: To Stretch a Point

By Bruce Rawson
B.App.Sc (Physiotherapy), B.Hum.Movt, Masters of Sports Physiotherapy
Rehabilitation and Performance Consultant

Fact or fallacy? Stretching muscles before you exercise will help you to avoid injury.

Anyone attempting to read up on the benefits of stretching may be excused for coming away somewhat confused. Literature devoted to the benefits of stretching abounds with recommendations that are clouded by misconceptions and conflicting research reports. Despite the absence of significant supporting research, stretching, following warm-up, has long been promoted as a method of preventing injury amongst athletes and fitness enthusiasts. However recent research in sports medicine requires that we examine this assumption in greater depth.

New evidence suggests that stretching immediately prior to exercise does not prevent overuse or acute injuries during that activity. In a study of 1538 Australian male army recruits, published in the February 2000 edition of, "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" researchers randomly allocated recruits into two pre-exercise groups:

1. the stretch group who performed supervised stretching following a standard warm-up, and
2. the no-stretch or control group, who performed the same warm-up without stretching routine.

At the end of 12 weeks of training the researchers found no significant difference in the number of injuries recorded in the two groups, leading to the conclusion that "a typical muscle stretching protocol performed during pre-exercise warm-ups does not produce clinically meaningful reductions in risk of exercise related injury in army recruits".

In a further review of recent stretching studies published in the August 2000 issue of "Physician and Sports Medicine" authors Dr Ian Shrier and Kav Grossal concluded that stretching, as part of a warm-up, has no effect on injury. They indicated that "only warm-up is likely to prevent injury", and, further relayed that if injury prevention is a primary objective of a warm-up routine, then athletes should "drop the stretching before exercise and increase warm-up".

So what does this mean to the average triathlete? If your aim is to reduce the likelihood of injury during a session or race then you must reconsider the importance and makeup of your warm up. "Unfortunately", according to Brisbane based Sports Physiotherapist, Andrew McGough, "too many athletes confuse stretching with warm-up, and commence physical activity ill prepared to meet the demands of their specific sport or activity". McGough further notes, "a warm-up should be just that - an activity where the body temperature is elevated".

Physiologically, adequate warm-up is vital to prepare the body for exercise. However, all too often a good warm-up is followed by a period of cooling down - the stretch - prior to the recommencement of activity. Physiologically, this just does not make sense!

The type of exercise or activity to be performed determines the type of warm-up, however a well-designed warm-up should consist of two phases- the general and the specific. A general warm-up uses a wide variety of actions, such as cycling, jogging or any activity utilising the body's large locomotor muscles (eg. Body weight squats), to prepare the body as a whole for exercise, to increase muscle temperature and to stimulate the right pre- exercise mood. Specific warm-up uses movements that are similar to the movements of the athletes' sport and should be based on the dynamic movements of the specific sport or activity. Unfortunately this is where stretching often falls down, one only has to observe triathlon to question the value of holding a static position in order to prepare for this dynamic activity. Put simply, static stretching is simply not specific to the activity about to be undertaken. This concept is now largely recognised by the professional sporting community, one only has to observe a professional team warming up to realise how important dynamic activities are to a teams preparations for a game. Indeed the aims of these types of warm ups is to move body parts through ranges of motions, gradually increasing speed of movement towards what is likely to be experienced in the game situation. Elements such as sport specific movements, speed, actions, agility, coordination and balance then become the focus of the warm-up rather than static stretching.

So when is stretching important with regard to injury prevention? Stretching - with the aim of improving flexibility of tight or shortened muscles, tendons, joints, is important in order to reduce stress and strain on body parts. Thus stretching, as a complimentary training routine, can have a role in reducing stress on a particular limb or body part. However, this type of training is best done following exercise or as part of separate routine, for, as we have seen, stretching will have no effect on reducing the likelihood of immediate injury.

In summary, it is evident that static stretching, as an element of warm-up prior to exercise, has minimal value in the prevention of injury. Rather, warm-up should involve exercises that are specific to the sport that is to be performed. Stretching, however, does play an integral part in the long-term prevention of injury, particularly in those people who participate in regular exercise. In this way, stretching, as a complimentary training routine, has a significant role in reducing the stress on a particular limb or body part and is most appropriately performed following exercise or as part of a separate training routine.

Next time you stretch prior to exercise, think twice and consider how appropriately this activity is preparing you for the task at hand!

Further Reading:

Pope, R.P., Herbert, R.O. Kirwan, J.O., and Graham, B. J. (2000) "A Randomised trail of pre exercise stretching for prevention of lover limb injury" Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 32(2), 27 -277.

Shrier, I. And Grossal, K. (2000) "Myths and Truths of Stretching" The Physician and Sports Medicine 28(8), 57-63.

Bruce Rawson is a physiotherapist and performance consultant working out of his offices on the Gold Coast, Australia. All IMS staff are trained strength and conditioning professionals with specific coaching qualifications in strength and conditioning, sports power training, and weightlifting. IMS staff provide industry specific strength and conditioning training to physiotherapists and the fitness industry – so why not train with the people who train the trainers! For more information on the type of work Bruce and his team do, call Bruce on ++617 55345244, visit their website www.injuryman.com.au or email: bruce@injuryman.com.au

Reprinted with permission from EnduranceCoach.com.