Woodbridge Physiotherapy Practice
And Sports Injury Clinic
Contact Details
Tel: 01394 387916
Email: info@woodbridgephysio.co.uk
Woodbridge Physiotherapy Practice Ltd
Prentices Lane
Woodbridge
Suffolk
IP12 4LF
Stretching exercises are best performed after a thorough warm up. A warm up is not a stretching program.
There is a growing controversy about the usefulness of stretching exercises in the prevention of sports injuries and delayed onset muscle soreness.
Recent research has been published in the BMJ and the press. The research was done in Australia and involved 5 separate studies on 77 fit young adults. 2 of the studies were on Army recruits doing 12 weeks of initial training whose risk of injury was high. The results of the studies showed that stretching only prevented one injury every 23 years on average!
However, there is still a growing collection of research which does support a correlation between muscle tightness and muscle strains.
Basically stretching exercises improves the flexibility of the tissues which can only be a good thing! Especially as we get older. Stretching also puts the joints through a full range of movement which prepares them for the exercises ahead. It can also be helpful when there is a muscle imbalance in the tissues which can happen due to poor training methods or simply due to postural adaptation or deformity.
Important Points To Remember When Stretching
Maintain a good posture whilst carrying out each stretch.
Concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply – exhaling helps to increase the relaxation of the muscle.
Make sure stretching is preceded by a thorough warm up.
Hold each stretch for 15-60 secs and repeat 3-4 times.
Each stretch should be comfortable and pain free.
The most important muscles to stretch are those that span 2 joints.
The quariceps hip and knee
The hamstrings
Hip adductors
Hip flexors – often tight due to sitting
Gluteals
Gatrocnemius – (calf)
Soleus –(calf)
Other stretches may be necessary following injury or if there is a particular muscle imbalance that needs to be corrected – under the supervision of a physio.
Stretching