In terms of the ability of chronic stretching to reduce injuries (the first of the three reasons I listed), I agree that it remains an open question. Debates about what stretching can or can't do have gone on for years; advocates claim it not only reduces muscle soreness but also improves performance and … Stretching is vitally important to supporting the constant contracting and lengthening of muscles. But with more information in the past few years I and my training partner have been stretching only small amounts and we are doing better. 3 A large randomised trial (2377 participants) of both pre and postexercise stretching has been … But just because there’s a correlation doesn’t mean the associated intervention will necessarily help. All gains are a result of microtears which have healed, but you don't want your muscles to be stretched while they're sensitive and slightly damaged from a good, healthy workout. (I’m not as old as those study participants. Check out my bestselling new book on the science of endurance, ENDURE: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, published in February 2018 with a foreword by Malcolm Gladwell. Sore muscles can be quite painful and hinder your daily life and activities. These findings were consistent across settings (laboratory vs field studies), types and intensity of stretching, populations (athletic or untrained adults of both genders) and study quality. The title says is all: “Stretching before or after exercise does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness.” This isn’t a surprise — while the exact mechanism that leads to DOMS is still up for debate, it’s pretty clear that it involves microscopic damage to muscle fibres and the subsequent repair process. Numerous studies have failed to find any reduction in injuries following stretching, but it’s certainly a complicated topic. The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise. Most fitness professionals -- and anyone who's worked out hard, then stretched -- agree that stretch can reduce, if not completely eliminate, muscle stiffness and soreness. A proper cooldown period will put you in the optimal state for recovery. I am a post run stretcher, have been for years. But, stretching can increase blood flow and help healing a tiny bit. Alternatively, opt for a low-cardio exercise like a slow pace on an exercise bike. The evidence derived from mainly laboratory-based studies of stretching indicate that muscle stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness in young healthy adults. Once you're used to static stretching, more advanced exercises are possible without a great risk of hurting yourself. I was not aware of the studies @Christian lists, and I have only read their abstracts at this point, but my experience seems to be consistent with their findings. Stretching. Soreness are small damages in the muscular tissue and stretching does not remove these. @Hilary: Yes, absolutely. However, even if you are a seasoned fitness fanatic or a long time athlete, muscle soreness can still creep into your life and disrupt your daily routine. As of September 2017, new Sweat Science columns are being published at www.outsideonline.com/sweatscience. The review I blogged about is looking specifically at the acute impact of stretching on next-day muscle soreness (i.e. We’ve found Ming Chew’s fascial stretches to help with muscle soreness when used pre and post workout. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11834101 Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise. When Stretching Helps Sore Muscles. It’s possible I suppose that the stretches are superfluous and it’s the warm-up exercises that are doing the work, but I’m not about to conclude that without experimenting and frankly in this one-person case, I’m not willing to risk the consequences. I don’t know. This effect, though statistically significant, is very small. [UPDATE: Welcome Reddit Running and Running Times folks! Perhaps there are people stretching to prevent DOMS, but fit athletes don’t even consider DOMS when incorporating post-run stretching into their routine. Heals Muscle Soreness As mentioned above, stretching increases blood supply to muscles, and increased blood supply does help in recovering from injuries. What about stretching already sore muscles? I guess my point is, (and as you alluded to at the end) don’t let studies like this discourage you form maintaining flexibility by stretching regularly. Here are five of the best post-workout stretches to help ease away the pain of sore muscles. That’s important for some physical activities though not for all. A meta-analysis of 12 studies published in the Cochrane database looked at the impact of stretching on DOMS. the third of three reasons I listed for stretching). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11842358 You can try these at home, the office, or other places without having to resort to fancy massages or expensive drug remedies. Lift your left leg resting your foot upon the inside of your right leg, Make the action of reaching forward with your right hand bending the hip and trying to touch your toe (if you can touch it, pull it back slightly), Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds before alternating, Take a step forward with the right leg to put yourself into a lunge, Hold your torso steady and straight while pushing your hips forward creating a stretch from the front to the back, Position your hands flat upon the floor on either side of you, Slowly and gently extend your arms raising your chest upward off the ground (ensure your shoulders are kept firmly down), Start standard upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, Turn your right ankle outward as you raise your leg and rest it on the left knee, As you do this assume a squatting position using your right elbow as leverage, If you’re battling to hold your balance, get a partner or practice focusing directly before you, Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms hanging loosely at your sides, Interlock your fingers as you position your hands behind you, Pull your hand up away from your body which will squeeze and retract your shoulders, Open your chest and allow yourself a full range to stretch before holding. Does Stretching Help Sore Muscles? Reaching a plateau in training is a personal challenge that will be uniquely different for each of us so don’t be afraid to combine approaches until you find the set of skills that works for gains and good health. I’ve never actually heard anyone suggest that. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise.. Does that fall under the injury-reduction heading or the soreness-reduction heading? Research suggests that stretching before or after exercise does not reduce risk of injury, and nor does it ease muscle soreness. Likewise, stretching helps in recovering from sore muscles (the condition known as delayed onset … As such, they are unlikely to be changed by further studies. I see from the splits that you used your wily veteran pacing to reel in Mihira!]. There are two main types of soreness that you'll encounter. This type of muscle … DOMS or overuse or tightness? That being said, a number of very large reviews have examined this question and failed to find any evidence that it’s true. Not all types of muscle pain are the same. You may be tempted to stretch those muscles to ease some of that pain, but that could be a waste of time. 18. Some research shows that stretching doesn't reduce muscle soreness after exercise, and other studies show that lengthening the muscle and holding the stretch immediately before a sprint may slightly worsen performance. Debates about what stretching can or can't do have gone on for years; advocates claim it not only reduces muscle soreness but also improves performance and reduces injury risk. The best available evidence indicates that stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness. You mean stretching already-sore calves makes the soreness go away instantly? It’s a short time frame because that’s what the studies are looking at. Here’s a forest plot of some of the results, from the BJSM summary: As the Cochrane Review notes, people generally stretch for one of three reasons: There’s plenty of evidence that the second point is misguided: stretching actually seems to harm athletic performance in many contexts. For example, this 2004 review of 361 studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that “stretching was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries.”. If you do end up hurt, you'll only have the lightest recovery to tend to. Stretching can help training and recovery immensely, particularly when you turn to the industry-leading methods available in the Hyperbolic Stretching guide. Your body does not naturally produce all the amino acids it needs, and the ones it doesn’t produce you have to get from food or supplements, including some that are vital for muscle repair. Never overlook the benefits of stretching programs that combine movement and static approaches. Once those muscle fibres are damaged, no amount of post-exercise stretching can magically undamage them! After all, this is probably why most of us do stretching before we begin lifting weights, running, or any other fitness related activity. By the time you reach a more rested state, your acute muscle soreness will have dissipated to the point of barely being noticeable. Today we talk about stretching and can it help you gain muscle. Surely there’s a fourth reason for stretching, which is to increase or maintain flexibility and range of movement. It also puts your body in the right state to start recovery optimally. We all go through it, getting in a great workout at the gym, and waking up the next morning in a ridiculous amount of pain. @alex So yes, if you stretch, for example, your soleus before and after your run, you will not have a positive impact on soleus soreness or performance relating that particular run. In answer to the question on the Running Times homepage, 11 of the 12 studies in this review used static stretching, while one used PNF stretching.]. It is not advisable for anyone to stretch while feeling any degree of acute muscle soreness as this can directly lead to severe tears in your muscles. Either one of these can cause muscle soreness, but static stretching can cause more laxity in your joints. Start your cooldown by ending your chosen exercise, followed by a short break. That’s because they don’t get DOMS anymore. (I know that is not worded very well, but that is the best way I can think to describe right now… almost like chronic stretching continually weakened me). When your workout reaches its peak intensity, and your muscles begin to ache, don't drop straight into stretching exercises. 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