Stretching and Its Effects on Injury and Recovery
A Review
I play and coach the game of Squash Rackets on average 4 times per week. Squash is a fast action sport with lots of rapid movement, twists, turns and explosive sprints.
It requires a high level of fitness and stamina to play at even a good club level. Most players stretch and warm up before playing and warm down after, in order to prevent muscle and tendon injuries, and to assist recovery and avoid stiffness the next day.
Do I Stretch?
I have never stretched before or after a game, nor do I warm up or warm down.
Unlike many of my opponents and pupils, I am never bothered by injury, stiffness or soreness, although I have played at National level and am now at the age described as “Masters”, (really meaning “Old Codger”)
So is all this stretching and preparation unnecessary, or is it that I just have “good genes”?. There has been research done into the effectiveness of stretching before and after sport, and the findings are quite enlightening.
There is some merit in the “good genes” idea.
Genetics
Genetics can indeed play a significant role in an individual’s physical attributes and how they respond to exercise and injuries. Some people may have genetic predispositions to be more injury-resistant or have a higher tolerance for physical activity.
Inflammation and Recovery
People who doesn’t experience soreness or stiffness might have a more efficient inflammatory response and recovery process. Some people naturally produce fewer inflammatory markers in response to exercise, which can result in less post-exercise soreness.
The Purpose of Stretching
Stretching is a commonly prescribed exercise activity that has been applied to warm-up increasing range of movement (ROM), and recovery from training
The prescription of stretching and warm-up or cooling down sessions has become a well-accepted ritual, but that does not imply that this is essential.
Possibly the most heretical remark to make about stretching is to suggest that the dedicated use of stretching sessions may not even be necessary, especially since many athletes dispense entirely with special stretching or even warm-up sessions before or after training without suffering injury in training or competition.
Stretching exercises should be varied under the same principle as strengthening exercises, but rarely are.
Light training followed by pain-free stretching is proposed as an effective means of achieving an active recovery that was superior to taking a day off from training
What the research says
A meta-analysis update of 12 studies, one including over 2,000 subjects, showed that pre- and post-activity stretching reduced muscle soreness from 1 to 3 days after exercise by one point in a 100-point scale.
The authors concluded that although the results were statistically significant, the magnitude of effect was not clinically significant.
My conclusion is that if the stretching routine psychologically makes you feel better and is a comfort for you, then do it. However, I believe it is totally unnecessary and of little practical use in preventing injury or post exercise soreness.
Certainly, being active immediately after sport (such as walking around, or a few flexible exercises) can help dispel the Lactic Acid build up, but stretching is not necessary.
Sands, William A. PhD, CSCS1; McNeal, Jeni R. PhD, CSCS*D2; Murray, Steven R. DA3; Ramsey, Michael W. PhD1; Sato, Kimitake PhD1; Mizuguchi, Satoshi PhD1; Stone, Michael H. PhD, FNSCA1
Strength and Conditioning Journal 35(5):p 30–36, October2013. | DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000004
