Just One Stretch Can Slow You Down

Here's an interesting follow up post to the one we did on 25 November this year on how necessary stretching was and how stretching affects performance and whether it can prevent exercise related injury on 23 February 09 in our other blog.

It's well established from previous published research that an acute bout of stretching can affect your maximum strength levels. Well, here is what I read from a study which examined how stretching affected strength levels.

The subjects in the study performed a one repetition test of maximum knee bending (or hamstring) strength after performing various numbers (ranging from 0-6) of hamstring stretches for 30 seconds. Here's what they found. It took only 1 stretch (of 30 seconds) to reduce their maximum strength! And what's more, additional bouts of stretching further affected strength levels. So, if you're trying to run fast or participate in an event which requires you to exert huge efforts don't stretch before that. 

Reference 

Winchester JB et al (2009). A Single 30 Second Stretch Is Sufficient To Inhabit Maximal Voluntary Contraction. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. June 80(2) : 257-261

How Necessary Is Stretching?

I've discussed this controversial topic on stretching before in our other blog on Feb 23 this year on whether stretching improves performance or can stretching prevent exercise related injury.

This topic was what today's New York Times discussed as well, on whether stretching was necessary. The link of the article was sent by one of my patients (thanks PJ), while I went to look up the article.

Researchers from the study had long distance track and field athletes do the classic sit and reach test (in picture above) to see how flexible their hamstrings were. Most Singaporeans will be familiar with this having done the test while in school.

Here is the most shocking news in the study. When the researchers compared the runners sit and reach measurements to their running economy, the most inflexible runners (both male and female) were the most economical (i.e. running more efficiently). What's more, the most inflexible had the fastest 10km race times. The reason? Researchers concluded that tighter (or more inflexible) muscles allow "greater elastic energy storage and use" while running. Being inflexible seems to make running easier.

Well, as I discussed in the other blog, all this seems to point towards less stretching. So even if you get nagged at to stretch, bear in mind that there is not much scientific evidence for that. Especially static stretches before you exercise (please see other blog - link above).


*Picture from Max Oppenheim/Getty Images

Here is the link to the New York Times article. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/phys-ed-how-necessary-is-stretching/

Reference
Trehearn TL and Buresh RJ (2009). Sit-and-reach Flexibility and Running Economy of Men and Women Collegiate Distance Runners. J Strength Cond Res 23(1): 158-162.