Over the last 20 years, static muscle stretches have been getting bad laps. Static stretch, which was considered an essential element of warming up sports and exercise, is now almost completely removed from the image.
This movement is a static stretch (holding the muscle for a few seconds or minutes after stretching), strength (reflected by lifting weights, etc.), power (jump height, etc.), running. Following extensive research showing that it may reduce speed, balance, and other abilities for a short period of time after stretching.
Applying the studies to the context, the average performance loss (strength, power, speed loss) after static stretching across all studies is about 3-5 percent. It may not sound like much, but given that Usain Bolt of the sprinter outperformed Justin Gatlin by 0.8 percent and Andre De Grasse by 1 percent at the 2016 Olympics, a deficit of 3-5 percent is life-threatening. It is no exaggeration to say that it may change. .. Therefore, at first glance, it may seem reasonable to remove static stretches from the image.
However, many of these studies do not appear to be designed to answer the specific question of whether stretching affects performance when used in warm-ups. At the very least, you may have come to a conclusion that goes against the actual evidence.
Reexamination of research — A review of recent surveys found that these surveys are telling a different story.
If participants only see studies that performed muscle stretches within a full sports warm-up, that is, low-intensity exercises were performed before static stretches of less than 60 seconds per muscle, and high-intensity sports-specific exercises. After stretching — static stretching within this comprehensive warm-up does not significantly affect actual performance. For example, the average change in sprint speed was -0.15 percent.
So why have you been told for the last 20 years that you need to remove static stretches from your warm-up?
One of the big problems is that most research studies have asked participants to stretch much longer than most athletes do during warm-up. Professional athletes can only stretch 12 to 17 seconds per muscle on average, but most research studies require participants to stretch each muscle for at least 1 minute, and some studies have 20 minutes. Or impose a 30 minute stretch.
In addition, participants’ performance is often tested almost immediately after stretching, but athletes always complete the warm-up before listening to the final instructions from the coach, getting ready, or playing the national anthem. Do other things, such as singing. If these tasks are included in the study, the negative effects of static stretching are not seen.
Nosebo effect — It is also important to remember that study participants are often college students, and these students often learned in their studies that static stretching can cause performance problems. In other words, there is a possibility of a nocebo (negative placebo) effect. In one study, students who were not instructed in the study of static stretching were told that stretching actually improved performance (they were prepared for the placebo effect). This instruction increased muscle strength after static stretching.
Therefore, the strength of the mind plays an important role in whether stretching is good or bad. In addition, when asked shortly after the warm-up, team sports athletes reported that if muscle stretch was included, they felt better than if it was omitted. Therefore, preparing the brain for exercise may be as important as preparing the muscles.
For stretching
If stretching doesn’t improve performance, why include it?
The most obvious reason is that stretching increases the range of motion of joints through their effects on the muscles and nervous system. This means you can easily move during activities such as sprint running, hurdles, extreme wrestling placement, performing dance and gym splits, soccer, hockey, and other activities that require expansion. increase. Of movement.
Also, most muscle and tendon damage occurs when the muscles are stretched during intense activity. Stretching the muscles not only increases the range of motion of the joints, but also allows the muscles to exert more force as they become longer. In our review, we found that this effect was also seen in studies showing the loss of force measured in tests with short muscle lengths. Together, these changes may reduce the chance of injury.
But that’s not the end of the story. Stretching muscles has other benefits as well. Stretching can be used as a form of self-diagnosis to check for pain and tension in different parts of the body before and after sports or exercise. Stretching muscles can also reduce muscle tone, heart rate, blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and improve vascular function. Therefore, stretching can play an important role in maintaining cardiovascular health and promoting relaxation.
So, with some caveats, static stretching is back. The benefits of pre-exercise static stretching appear to outweigh the shortcomings when stretching is built into a complete warm-up and when the duration is reasonable (less than 60 seconds per muscle group).
This article was originally published conversation Along David George Böhm, Anthony Brazevic, Anthony David Kaye, Gabriel S. Trahano.. Read the original article here.
