Stretching, an essential component of any exercise routine, helps protect your joints and muscles. Healthy joints and muscles that function properly allow you to move and perform daily activities effectively thanks to better mobility, enhanced range of motion, greater flexibility, improved blood circulation to muscles, and reduced stress and muscle tension. Stretching may help relieve muscle soreness after vigorous exercise.
Significance of Sore Muscles
Sore muscles result from activities that make your muscles bend and contract, such as exercising. You may feel discomfort, such as aches and tenderness, in the area of the affected muscle or muscles. The sensation may begin while you are performing a certain activity or several days afterward. Specific causes of sore muscles include fluid buildup around the affected muscle, muscle contractions, or spasms, and overstretching.
Stretching Basics
The best times to stretch during an exercise routine are after warming up at the beginning and after completing the routine. Individuals who fail to stretch when they engage in prolonged physical activity -- especially if they are athletes -- can increase their risk of encountering problems such poor balance and longer recovery from damaged muscles. If you do not exercise regularly, you can still benefit from stretching several times a week to increase or preserve your flexibility.
Stretching and Muscle Soreness
Many believe stretching can prevent or lessen muscle soreness following physical activity. Yet research indicates stretching either before or after exercise does not have a significant impact on the degree of muscle soreness you are likely to experience afterward. A 2005 study published in the "Journal of Athletic Training" concluded that stretching before or after physical activity can help reduce muscle soreness later. The reduction is too small, however, to support stretching as an effective intervention for decreasing muscle soreness after exercise.
Considerations
Be careful when stretching if your muscles are already sore. Sometimes sore muscles are the result of a serious injury or medical condition, and stretching can cause further damage. When your muscle soreness is minor, however, stretching may provide some relief if you maintain gentle stretch positions for up to 30 seconds. Do not bounce as you hold the stretches, as bouncing can create tears in your muscles that cause further pain and reduce your flexibility.
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