To Stretch Or Not To Stretch?

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.

“You only need enough range of motion in your joints to avoid injury. More is not necessarily better,” [says Dr. Duane Knudson, professor of biomechanics at Texas State University in San Marcos, who has extensively studied flexibility and muscle response]. For runners, extremely tight hamstrings and joints have been found in some studies (but not all studies) to contribute to overuse injuries. But somewhat tight hamstrings, as the Nebraska Wesleyan study showed, can make you more economical. Some degree of inflexibility may make you a better runner.

I might take this research to heart if it were my dream to beat a Kenyan in the Boston Marathon. But since that’s less likely than me manning a space ship to the moon, I think I’m going to keep up my stretching. (Yeah, I know: I always seem to back studies that jibe with my lifestyle.)

Aside from the fact that stretching makes my legs and knees feel less achy, there are a couple of key questions this study fails to answer for me. First, it deals strictly with pre-exercise stretching. I’ve read previous studies that suggest stretching before exercise makes your workout less effective. But what about a post-exercise stretch?

Second, just how stretchy do you have to be to prevent an injury? What if you’re already injured—should you be extra elastic? Since the study leaves these important questions unanswered, I’m going to continue emulating Gumby after each trip to the gym.

How about you: Are you stretchy or tight? Would you rather run like Usain Bolt or twist into a human knot like a yoga guru?