Hello everybody. I’m a newbie on the forum, but I wanted to share this article and see what others thought. I get conflicting information about stretching all the time …
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/29/stretching.study.ap/index.html
Thanks for posting this article. It is a very common assumption that stretching will in itself decrease injuries, which is not always the case. I do believe for people who have a limited range of motion this can be true. However, if your range of motion is fine the most common reason for injuries is a strength imbalance or weakness due to overuse. The strength articles here on slowtwitch have more information on this. Remember that it is possible to be TOO flexible. http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/strength2.html
Here’s my take (I’ll preface by saying that I’m not a health care provider of any sort). Stretching may/may not prevent injuries which occur within the normal range of motion (the article’s assertion) but it does two things specifically for me as a triathlete that the article does not address: 1) allows for a greater range of motion (I definitely wouldn’t be able to get into the aero position I’m in today with the hamstring flexibility I had a year ago) and 2) prevents injuries arising from misalignments due to muscle tightness (this is just my opinion, again). As an example, hamstring tightness is always an issue for me, and when I don’t stretch regularly my “shortened” hamstrings affect the proper tilt of my pelvis and aggravate a compressed L5-S1 disk, which causes me lower back pain and numbness in the upper thigh when it gets really bad.
So, while I may or may not be any less likely to injure my hamstrings within their normal range of motion by stretching them, I definitely see many other tangible benefits from stretching them.
As an example, hamstring tightness is always an issue for me, and when I don’t stretch regularly my “shortened” hamstrings affect the proper tilt of my pelvis and aggravate a compressed L5-S1 disk, which causes me lower back pain and numbness in the upper thigh when it gets really bad.
So, while I may or may not be any less likely to injure my hamstrings within their normal range of motion by stretching them, I definitely see many other tangible benefits from stretching them. I have had the same problem, last year i had to take a few days off from work to lie in bed helpless because my lower back hurt so bad from sitting at a desk all day without the proper pelvic tilt. Its taken me 8-9 months to get back on my bike, but now i’m riding again and slowly getting more aero. What types of hammie stretches do you do? I find the only way i can isolate the hams withou involving the lower back flexability is to lie upside-down on a decline bench and do on legged stretches with a cord or rope. -Erik