To stretch or not to stretch, that is the question. A huge amount of controversy in surrounds the issue in running circles. A major study of runners published in 2010 indicated that stretching neither increased nor decrease the chances of being injured. If you do stretch before running, the study indicated that dynamic stretches were better than static stretches. But biggest risk of injury was to runners who changed their regular pre-run routine.
Research
The 2010 study of more than 2,700 regular runners between the ages of 13 and 60, conducted by a group at George Washington University led by orthopedic surgeon Daniel Pereles raised at least as many questions as it answered. Although injury rates in each of the two groups, those who stretched before running versus those who didn't stretch, were virtually identical at about 16 percent, the type of stretches might have led to the high incidence of injuries in the stretching group. This group did static stretches, traditional stretches such as touching your toes and holding the position for a count of 20. Since the incidence of injuries was quite high -- about one in six runners in both groups were injured severely enough to miss at least one week of running -- not stretching and static stretching could be the wrong approach.
Traditional Stretches
An illustrated list of 12 traditional stretches for runners can be found at the Cool Running website. These stretches include three versions of wall pushups, stretches for your back, hamstrings, quads, hips, lower back and groin. According to Cool Running, "Along with training gently and choosing the right shoes, stretching is the most important thing you can do to protect your body from the rigors of the road." But that assertion is debatable.
Static Stretching
The exercises done in the George Washington University study and advocated by Cool Running and many other exercise experts are known as static stretches. The stretching group in the George Washington study did three to five minutes of stretching before they ran, and all of the stretches were of the static variety. Static stretches require you to hold stretches for a period of time, in this case 20 seconds. A "New York Times" article about the research focused on apparent failure of static stretching, which has been shown to shorten the vertical leap of athletes compared with a group that did not stretch. So static stretching may weaken your muscles if you do them before you run.
Dynamic Stretching
Dynamic stretching involves movement. For example -- you might raise your leg in a marching motion and then swing it back in a controlled arc, according to Phil Wharton of the Wharton Performance Clinic. Or lift your leg to the side and scissor it in front of you to warm up the hip joint. Or you could stick to your usual routine if it works for you, since the most injuries, 23 percent, occurred in runners who changed their normal stretching routine in the George Washington University study. If it ain't broke, you might not need to fix it.
