While researching, I came upon a debatable topic that started to make me question something I really believed in.
I am a believer in always stretching before I do any exercise. Before my injury, I wouldn’t really take the time to stretch I would just go straight into the exercise. One reason I stretch would be to increase flexibility in my muscles so they are not stiff while I do exercise. Another reason would be that it helps with balance and elongates the muscles that are being used. I also use stretching after a workout in order to prevent soreness the next day.
I have personally experimented going through an intense practice with my team and stretching after the session and the next day going through another intense practice and not stretching right after. I can say that not stretching right after the practice did give me a bit of soreness the next day while when I did stretch after practicing I was not sore at all.
What I’ve learned from an article written by Dr. Matthew Isner, a Chiropractor who enjoys working out in the gym, are the reasons why he does not believe in stretching. First, he says that stretching before a non-intense activity, such as jogging, is pretty much useless. I would agree with this because jogging is something I use as a warm up before actually working out. I don’t really need to stretch before I stretch. All I really need is something light then I can hit the ground running. Though what Dr. Isner fails to address is stretching before a rigorous and intense workout. Yes, stretching before doing something light is not necessary in order to prevent injury though what about when you plan to do something that really works your body? I believe that stretching prevents stiffness and fatigue to our muscles when working them.
Something that Dr. Isner mentioned that I didn’t know was that stretching can produce damage at the cytoskeleton level which maintains cell shape and enables cellular motion. I would think that it causes damage if someone were to be stretching improperly. Though it could also most likely occur if someone were to be stretching too much.
To conclude, I learned something new from reading this article but it could not change my mind on my view on stretching. I will continue to believe that stretching is effective on the topic of injury prevention.
Sources:
Isner, Matthew. “Does Pre-Exercise Stretching Really Prevent Injuries?” bodybuilding.com, 29 Aug. 2018, http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pre-exercise-stretching-and-injuries.htm.
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Prevention for Athletes 