Stretching

Does Stretching Decrease InjuryAND Performance ?

Andrew Cannon, MHS, PT, SCS, CSCSDir., Sports Medicine Northeast RehabTeam PT, Lecturer, Merrimack College

WHAT DO WE NEED TOREMEMBER?

What limits flexibility/ROM ? Stretching right before different than all else Warm up and stretching are different

– Stretching can be part of warm up– WU can be general vs sport specific– What is dynamic stretching? Says who?

Physiology

Immediate– Decrease viscoelasticity, increase compliance– Duration different for different muscle, pops.– Will affect compliance of resting muscle only– Stretching has an analgesic effect– Decrease VE for < 30 min. Does increase ROM

partialy based on analgesic effect

Long term

May induce muscle hypertrophy Shown to increase MVC, jump height, speed Do to decrease central inhibition

Does Stretching DecreaseInjury?

Evidence says pre-exercise does not Not pre-exercise 3x day does

– 20 seconds, 5-7 reps, comfortable– Frequency is key

Does Stretching DecreasePerformance?

In general, warm-ups that incorporate dynamicstretching appear to improve force production andexplosiveness, whereas static and PNF stretchingeither maintain or decrease performance capabilities

Stretching prior to an activity has been attributed topassive relaxation of the muscle because of reducedneural activation and greater connective tissuecompliance

Does Stretching DecreasePerformance?

Fatigue must be avoided during the dynamic warm-up or the inability of the muscle to achieve sufficient force production will resemble the effects of static and PNFstretching. Therefore, incorporating pre-exercisestretching utilizing non-fatiguing dynamic movements prior to performing explosive activities appears toresult in an effectively warmed-up muscle that excels in force production.

YES!! Static stretch 3 x a day not before exercise

does decrease injury risk and does notdecrease performance

Dynamic warm-up before exercise, that isnot fatiguing and progresses from general tosport specific does decrease injury risk,does not decrease performance doesdecrease injury risk

JSCR January 2009

The Acute Effects of Different Durations of Static Stretching on Dynamic BalancePerformance. Pablo B Costa; Barbara S Graves; Michael Whitehurst; Patrick LJacobs

Sit-and-Reach Flexibility and Running Economy of Men and Women CollegiateDistance Runners.Tamra L Trehearn; Robert J Buresh

Acute Effect of a Ballistic and a Static Stretching Exercise Bout on Flexibility andMaximal Strength. Reury Frank Pereira Bacurau; Gizele Assis Monteiro; CarlosUgrinowitsch; Valmor Tricoli; Leonardo Ferreira Cabral; Marcelo Saldanha Aoki

THANKS!