Most of us recognise the importance of stretching our muscles, but how much do we really need to do? On the one hand, as we age, muscles, tendons and ligaments become less flexible, this can have negative impacts on our posture and balance. In extreme cases, affecting our ability to perform tasks such as bending to tie shoes or to pick up objects. Obviously this level of stiffness in our soft tissues is not healthy, but do we really need to practise daily stretching?
For many years we were taught that stretching prior to a work-out was necessary to avoid injury or stiffness. However, studies now suggest that the rate of injuries is largely unaffected by a pre-work-out stretch routine and a gentle active warm-up may be more useful instead. This could be taking long strides prior to a hike or some gentle moves to loosen the joints and limbs prior to a gym work out.
But stretching, especially after a period of rest or inactivity does feel good. I am regularly amused by my dog who always takes a deep stretch after a sleep – this type of stretching is called Pandiculation – and is thought to help the muscle “wake up” after inactivity. Whilst stretching pre- exercise may not be as beneficial for reducing injury as was once thought there are some interesting and important health benefits to flexibility.
Poor performance on a Sit and Reach test is associated with arterial stiffness – a significant risk factor for heart disease. Studies now show that stretching our muscles can in fact reduce this arterial stiffness, thereby potentially reducing cardiac disease.
However, what we really need is to be flexible “enough”, and that means “functionally flexible”. Obviously, the elite climber needs significantly more flexibility in their legs and arms than the average person who just needs to be supple enough to climb stairs and hills without tension or stiffness.
It may be more useful to think of functional stretching rather than a stretching programme, for instance, when cleaning, purposefully stretch the arms to their limit, when moving, stretch or bend into that movement just a little more than it strictly requires. When picking something up from the floor squatting on your haunches can be a great stretch for releasing sitting related stiffness. Ultimately a lack of movement is the main determinant of stiffness rather than a lack of stretching per se.
The upshot is that being flexible is a good thing. We don´t need to be contortionists, and we don’t need to spend hours pre or post exercise stretching. But we need to move, move freely and into the tension. Move, stretch, move.
