Doctor's Corner

Stretching: Truths and Myths

Welcome to Doctor’s Corner, a new regular feature on Outsports. This feature is designed to give athletes--whether competitive or weekend warriors--practical advice on staying healthy and staving off injury. If you have any questions, suggestions or other concerns please feel free to Dr. Gloin directly

By Dr. Matthew Gloin
Outsports.com

If there should be one thing in life that is quick and simple it should be stretching.  But one needs to know how to do it properly.

Why is it necessary to stretch in the first place?  The  reasons include preventing injury, allowing joints to move within a normal range of motion and to return a muscle to its most functional length.   Whether it's sports, poor posture, trauma or repetitive movements these activities all cause a series of muscles to be activated.  Many of these muscles remain activated or in a state of contraction long after the initiating activity has ceased.  A muscle is activated by the nerve(s) that innervates the body of the muscle.  The greater the number of muscle fibers within a muscle, the greater the potential force of contraction that is possible. 

The contraction of muscle fibers is much like sliding the fingers of two outstretched hands together and as a muscle relaxes this is like the separation of those fingers.  With repeated contractions, such as occurs with most sports, the degree of relaxation tends to decrease as the muscle is continuously reactivated.  It should be no surprise that you feel somewhat like the Tin Man after being active for several hours.  Based on your sport, past injuries, career, personality type and genetics, most people tend to have certain muscles that account for most of their irritation.  From my experience these tend most to be the hip extensors (glutes), hip flexors (psoas), knee extensors (quadriceps), knee flexors (hamstrings), upper traps, pectorals and gastrocs.

Myths

Now that we know why to stretch, let me now dispel some common myths about stretching:

• Myth: It will warm you up.

• Myth: It will allow you to run faster.

• Myth: It can't be done incorrectly or cause injury.

• Myth: It needs to be painful to be helpful. 

All of these statements are false and they tend to be the cause of many unnecessary injuries.

Truths

The truths about stretching are simple:

• Truth: Do not stretch when in a hurry, or bounce, or just before a long distance run or push a muscle too far into tension.

• Truth: Do not stretch a tight muscle during or immediately after running (wait at least 30 minutes).

• Truth: Do take your time when stretching.

• Truth: Do move the muscle that you would like to stretch gently into a position of elongation, hold the muscle in this position for 10-30 seconds and back off gently.

• Truth: Do pick a time in the afternoon or evening when you are relaxed and stretch at least three times per week.

In order to help you better visualize proper stretching techniques I have included examples of stretches that are often used for the lower extremities.

Hamstrings
	Tips: Keep spine straight and bend at the hip Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Quadriceps
	Tips Stand straight, while flexing knee towards buttock Attempt to keep knee aimed towards the floor Feel for a mild stretch in the region directly above the knee Stabilize yourself with hand on a wall Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Gastrocs (calves)
	Tips With shoes on bring the toe of your shoe up and onto the wall as high as possible and then lean forward  placing mild tension to the muscles on the back of the leg Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Piriformis
	Tips While lying on back attempt to bring your knee towards your opposite shoulder Feel for a mild stretch in your buttock Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Iliotibial Band
	Tips In order to stretch the outer aspect of the right thigh you need to cross your left leg over your right and let you right hip shift to the right Feel for a mild stretch on the outer aspect of your right thigh Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Psoas
	Tips In order to stretch the right psoas (upper/front of thigh) take one large step forward with your right leg Keep your left leg straight and behind (knee extended) Your left heel may come off the floor Stand upright and keep your spine straight to increase the stretch Raise your arm on the side of your body that you are focusing on Hold for 10-30 seconds Repeat on each side, 1-2 times Stop if painful
Note: Before attempting any of these stretches, first consult with your doctor.

If you have any questions, suggestions or other concerns please feel free to contact me directly.

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Photos by Brent Mullins / Outsports.com