Do you really need to stretch after working out



Today at Crossfit my coach told me I was not allowed to leave the gym until I stretched. I didn't think anything about it, its something I have heard all my life from gym teachers to volleyball coaches. But it got me to thinking, what is the reason we stretch after exercising. 


We have been told that stretching after working out prevents soreness and injury. After reading some recent articles, the clinical research shows that there is no evidence that stretching prevents muscle soreness or injury or enhance sports performance.

"According to American College of Sports Medicine, Stretching before or after exercise does not reduce delayed onset muscle soreness or reduce injury in healthy adults."

We know now that stretching is not going to help reduce soreness or prevent injury but its not completely useless. While you are weightlifting or running you contract your muscles so much that overtime they become a little shorter and can cause some stiffness. For example, any long distance runner knows that your hip flexors get tight and would benefit from stretching.

The best time to stretch is after your muscles have been warmed up and are pliable. This doesn't mean you have to wait until after your workout or run to stretch. You should be doing some sort of warm up before you exercise and a quick little stretch could be done after your warm-up.




References:

Thacker, S, Gilchrist, J, Stroup, D,  and Kimsey Jr, D.The Impact of Stretching on Sports Injury Risk: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. 371-378, 2004.

Herbert, R, and Noronha, M. Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004577.pub2/full.2007


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