Posts from — December 2009

photo by leo.prie.to

I never was interested in stretching until my physical therapist told me a secret. Too-tight muscles can cause injuries. She gave me a few stretches to do each day after I exercised, and they quickly became part of my PT ritual. I won’t lie: I let my eyes roll to the far, far reaches of my skull when I realized stretching added another 10 minutes to my already long PT routine. But after the first couple times, my knees started feeling better. Loosened hamstrings and calf muscles made walking less painful. Now, if I don’t stretch I feel uncomfortably tight. And I believe the stretching helps prevent further knee pain.

So, of course you can imagine how stunned I was to read this New York Times article that says stretching is pretty much worthless. The study of college track and field runners found that those with tighter muscles have better running economy, which measures how much oxygen a person uses in motion. The researchers say tight muscles store and use energy better, making running easier.

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