Stretching before you run may harm more than help

By JEREMY LAURANCE


You see them everywhere - people yanking an ankle behind their back before setting off on a jog.

It looks like sensible preparation for exercise, but it may do more harm than good. Not only does it fail to reduce the risk of injury, it may also hinder performance.

Research on 23 studies of athletes who performed stretching exercises before performance tests of sporting performance showed nearly all had a bad effect.

One study showed static stretching before a jump test reduced the maximum height by almost 2cm. A review of six studies of stretching before exercise found that not one demonstrated it prevented injury.

Ian Shrier, a Canadian epidemiologist who conducted both reviews, said: "At first people thought I was crazy." But other researchers had since reached similar conclusions, he said.

The best way to prevent injury and prepare for exercise was to do a proper warm-up routine to get blood flowing to the muscles, he said.

Doing calf stretches before a run does not benefit the leg muscles because they are never stretched in the extreme position while running.

But stretching should not be ruled out. Dr Shrier, of Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, found seven other studies showing how regular stretching exercises as part of an exercise routine improved performance.

"If one stretches, one should stretch after exercise or at a time not related to exercise," he said.

James Brown, a specialist in sports medicine in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and spokesman for the UK Association of Doctors in Sport, said: "Stretching before exercise probably increases the risk of injury ... If you go jogging or to the gym at lunchtime there is no need to stretch first."

- INDEPENDENT