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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While some research has raised
the question of whether pre-workout stretching hinders muscle
performance, a new study suggests that a few minutes of
stretching may not sap the average exerciser's muscle strength.
Stretching is part of many active people's pre-exercise
routine. But some recent studies have been pointing to
potentially negative effects on athletic performance.
In some studies, though not all, stretching right before a
workout has been found to decrease both sprint speed and jump
height. There's also evidence that stretching temporarily
reduces muscle strength.
However, one question has been whether such effects would
be seen after the short bouts of stretching that a typical
exerciser or weekend athlete might perform.
The new study, published in the journal Medicine & Science
in Sports & Exercise, looked at just such a "practical"
stretching regimen.
Researchers measured calf-muscle strength in 13 moderately
active men and women under four different conditions: after no
stretching, and before and after 2, 4 or 8 minutes of
calf-muscle stretching.
They found that stretching did not diminish the
participants' muscle strength compared with the no-stretching
condition. It did, however, temporarily improve the range of
motion in the ankle joint.
The findings suggest that "a few minutes of static
stretching of the calf muscles before exercise is unlikely to
diminish muscle strength," senior researcher Dr. Joel T.
Cramer, of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, told Reuters
Health.
Past studies, he noted, have shown that longer, less
practical stretching regimens may in fact dampen calf muscle
strength for a short time. "However," Cramer said, "most
exercisers do not continuously stretch their calves for 10, 20
or 30 minutes."
It is possible that other muscle groups respond differently
to stretching than the calf muscles do, according to Cramer.
For instance, the quadriceps and hamstrings -- muscles in the
front and back of the thighs, respectively -- may be more
susceptible to the strength-sapping effects of stretching.
More studies are needed to answer that question, Cramer
said.
Another limitation of the current study is that it included
only moderately active people -- not athletes, who might be
more affected by small changes in muscle strength or power
brought on by pre-competition stretching.
None of this means that stretching is not useful to active
people. As demonstrated in the current study, stretching can
improve joint range of motion in the short term. And some
studies suggest that over the long term, a regular stretching
regimen can help build muscle strength.
SOURCE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, August
2008.
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