Bend, Don’t Break: Stretching…Yes or No?

Is it good? Is it important? Does it work? These are all common questions we get asked at Sycamore. Stretching is known by all but misunderstood by most. Let's delve into it in this blog. By the end, hopefully, you'll know enough about stretching to determine whether it’s important for your health goals. 

There are different ways to stretch, such as dynamic stretching and PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation). The main type of stretching we will refer to in this blog is static stretching. This is the type of stretching where you hold a stretch for a few seconds before relaxing.

What is Stretching?

Like, what actually happens when I stretch? 

Let’s get nerdy. Feel free to skip this paragraph if you just want to know the important stuff.

Static stretching involves lengthening a muscle to its ‘maximum’ range and holding it at this length for a specified amount of time. The science behind this focuses on two things: the muscle-tendon unit (MTU) and the neuromuscular system. When a muscle is stretched, receptors called muscle spindles, part of the MTU, send signals to the spinal cord, causing a reflex to activate in the stretched muscle. This reflex is a tactic your body uses to protect itself from being overstretched. However, with regular stretching, these events happen less frequently as the muscle spindles get used to your muscles being stretched. The more they are stretched, the less they send these signals to your spinal cord, allowing the stiffness in your muscles to reduce temporarily and therefore increasing your range of motion (ROM) (Konrad, Gad, Tilp, & Nakamura, 2022).

Is Flexibility a Flex? 

Why do people do it and what does the research say? 

Short answer: stretching and choosing to prioritise it depends on what your goals are. How effective stretching is depends on what the goal of stretching is. Here are three reasons people may choose to make stretching a goal. 

Reduce Pain 

Pain can be caused by tightness in the muscles which cause pain. Common types of pain that people may use stretching for is pain in specific areas such as the shoulder, back or legs or for global and chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia.

A study conducted on adults with fibromyalgia (FM)  found that 40 minutes of stretching, twice a week, showed improvements in pain tolerance, reduced bodily pain and improvements in their FM symptoms (Assumpção et al., 2018). A different study that looked out stretching in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that stretching alone was effective in reducing pain scores but the paper also mentioned that it was hard to find out whether that translated improvements in function (how well you can use your knees after stretching) (Luan, El-Ansary, Adams, Wu & Han, 2022). These studies suggest that stretching can definitely improve pain levels especially in osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. Of course, pain and what causes your pain may be different so when seeing if stretching can be good for your pain, it’s always best to talk to a professional.

Improve Sports Performance

While there is research to support stretching in sport, static stretching specifically may have negative effects on performance depending on the sport you do (Kallerud & Gleeson, 2013).  Research shows that static stretching, the type we’ve been talking about, found either a negative or no effect outcome while dynamic stretching showed a positive or no effect outcome for sports that were fast paced and explosive. This means static = no, dynamic = yes when it comes to sports like running, team ball sports or anything where you may be required to jump, sprint or throw. Don’t get this confused with static stretching AFTER…that is after you have performed and not what we are talking about. These studies looked at stretching before sport and not after. We aren’t saying don’t do static stretching before a sport but if you are…make sure you also do some dynamic stretching as well to make sure your muscles are warm and ready to move. 

So What's the Verdict?

Stretching is good when you add it to an exercise routine that already has strength and cardio exercises. It helps reduce pain and discomfort and improves how well you move, making your life easier. While stretching is usually safe, there are still some risks, so it’s a good idea to talk to a health professional if you're worried about getting hurt. If you want to learn more about why we need strength and cardio exercises, check out our other blogs below or book an appointment with our Exercise Physiologists or Physiotherapists!

• The Importance of Strength and Conditioning 
• Exercise and the Importance of Heart Health

References 

Kallerud, H., & Gleeson, N. (2013). Effects of stretching on performances involving stretch-shortening cycles. Sports Medicine, 43(8), 733-750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0053-x

Assumpção A, Matsutani LA, Yuan SL, Santo AS, Sauer J, Mango P, et al. Muscle stretching exercises and resistance training in fibromyalgia: which is better? A three-arm randomised controlled trial. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med 2018;54:663-70. DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.17.04876-6)