At Coltman and Baughman Physical Therapy we specialize in sports and orthopedic rehabilitation for everyone from high level athletes to the weekend warrior.
comprehensive evaluation of your running form, complete musculoskeletal assessment, training program analysis and shoe wear assessment
Physical therapy for runners and endurance athletes
When it comes to the use of stretching there seems to be more opinions...Read More
When it comes to the use of stretching there seems to be more opinions and confusion than there are straight answers. You may be asking yourself: Do I stretch before runs? Do I stretch after runs? Is stretching detrimental to my running performance?
These are good questions to ask. The reason for the confusion is because the results of the research is not clear. However, part of the confusion can be cleared up by simply defining our terms. When we talk about stretching we need to make sure we are talking about the same thing. The timing of the stretching needs to be considered. There is pre-activity stretching, routine or regular stretching, and post activity stretching.
Pre-activity stretching is stretching done immediately prior to an athletic event. Routine stretching is stretching that is performed as a regular part of your fitness routine. It is a dedicated time 3 to 5 days per week that emphasizes joint range of motion and muscle flexibility in an effort to maximize your body’s mobility. Post activity stretching is a type of routine stretching that is performed regularly shortly after an athletic event to take advantage of the increased tissue temperature of the muscles to maximize their extensibility.
There are also different types of stretching. There are three basic types of stretching; static stretching, dynamic stretching, and ballistic stretching.
Static stretching is the traditional type of stretching. It is slow and controlled passive movement of a muscle beyond the tissues normal range of motion that is held for a period of time, usually between 15 and 60 seconds
Dynamic stretching is an active stretch in which the person actively uses a muscle to bring the opposite muscle to the available end range of motion to create a dynamic stretch. For example, a dynamic leg swing uses the hip flexors to elevate the leg to dynamically stretch the hamstrings
Ballistic stretching is an active stretching technique that uses a bouncing motion to take a muscle beyonds its normal end range of motion to increase flexibility. A common example of this is bouncing toe touches.
Now that we have defined our terms it will be easier to make sense of all of the different recommendations regarding stretching.
Pre-activity stretching has been shown in some studies to actually decrease strength and power with the athletic performance that immediately follows the stretching. It has also not been shown to decrease risk of injury. As a result, we do not recommend pre-activity stretching prior to doing a run. However, this does not mean you should go out and run without any warm up routine. We strongly recommend a good dynamic warm up prior to running of 10-15 minutes prior to initiating your run.
In contrast to pre-activity stretching, regular stretching may improve athletic performance. In addition it may also decrease your risk of injury.
Static stretching has been shown to be an effective and safe way to improve muscle flexibility and it is just as effective as dynamic and ballistic stretching. However, there is increased risk of injury doing ballistic stretching. Consequently we recommend doing static or dynamic stretching as opposed to ballistic stretching for your stretching routine.
- Mark Baughman PT, DPT, OCS, ATC
Coltman & Baughman Physical Therapy
0
0
0
you must login
Has it all-
I’ve been working with Rob with regard to a chronic running injury- the man knows his stuff. He took me through his run lab and was quickly able to point out multiple issues with my gate and explained to me why my injury was occurring. He gave me drills to do which seem to be working! He presented multiple areas of gate research which he thought would help with the healing process. He seems very passionate about running and treating his patients- I really appreciate and HIGHLY recommend!Feb 02 2021
At Coltman and Baughman Physical Therapy we specialize in sports and orthopedic rehabilitation for everyone from high level athletes to the weekend warrior.
Training Block was created with a mission to support and empower runners, in order to elevate our sport. We do so by giving runners access to a network of local sport performance providers, who provide runners with the care they need from coaching, physical therapy, massage, strength training, and more. We also give providers an easy way to connect with each other and share articles, videos, and other resources that benefit runners and providers alike. For every service booked through Training Block, we donate 10% of our revenues to Training Block’s Elite Athlete Fund, which sponsors elite runners who do not have professional contracts and need financial support for racing at their highest level.
Copyright © 2024 Training Block. All rights reserved.
Refer a friend and get $5 discount on order!