Stretching? Yes, Says Newest Study

To stretch or not to stretch; that has been the question for the last several years, with one study claiming a benefit to static stretching and the next study arguing that stretching could impair performance. Now, from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, comes a systematic review of hundreds of studies contradict the most common static stretching findings from the last 15 years. The science journal, Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism reports that researchers found that, no, static stretching does not impair performance. In their many words, the researchers found that “when incorporated into a full warm-up routine that includes an initial aerobic component, static and dynamic stretching and then active and dynamic sport-specific activities should not result in significant performance impairments and may reduce muscle strain injury risk. This systematic review has also highlighted the lack of scientific data regarding the effects of dynamic stretching on injury risk.” Yikes! What does it mean? Just stretch before athletic activities, and don’t worry about it.