Does Stretching Decrease Muscle Soreness?

Exercise can produce both positive and negative results. Although regular exercise improves your overall fitness and health, it can also lead to injuries in some situations. Exercising too often or too intensely, for instance, can cause physical problems if your body is not properly prepared. Sore muscles are a common side effect of exercising, and they can indicate your exercise routine is either working properly or not, depending on the specific circumstances.

Goal of Stretching

The main objective of stretching exercises is to increase your flexibility. When your body is sufficiently flexible, your joints and muscles are capable of functioning better, which improves your performance. This improved functioning includes enhanced range of motion, a concept related to how far and in how many directions your joints and muscles can easily extend. Joints and muscles with increased flexibility give you better coordination and posture. They also help reduce your chances of enduring injuries associated with poor range of motion, such as sprains.

Features of Sore Muscles

Sore muscles often result when people start exercising seriously for the first time or after an extended period of inactivity. Experiencing muscle soreness one to three days after participation in a new type of exercise is common. The soreness can occur for many reasons, including fluid buildup around muscles, muscle contractions, small tears in muscle tissue and stretching too enthusiastically. When the resulting soreness is not dangerous, the discomfort often goes away after you give your muscles a day or two of rest. Stretching even more in an attempt to decrease the discomfort can have no effect, or it can cause additional issues if the soreness indicates a serious problem.

How Stretching Affects Muscles

Stretching exercises fall into two categories. Static stretching involves targeting certain groups of muscles, such as your hamstring -- and stretching, or elongating, them individually. You accomplish this by holding a stretching position for 20 seconds to two minutes without bouncing. In contrast, dynamic stretching occurs as your body is moving. This advanced form of stretching is riskier, particularly if you are not familiar with proper technique. Many health care and fitness professionals recommend static stretching to help reduce or improve muscle soreness, but it cannot prevent the condition all together.

Stretching Tips

To lower your risk of getting sore muscles as a result of stretching, only stretch before exercise if you warm up first. Stretching before your body warms up, while your muscles are still cold, can help injure or tear muscle tissue. Also stretch after your exercise routine is complete, following a period of cooling down. Stretching muscles slowly can prevent damage to them. Stretch both sides of your body, as well, breathing steadily throughout each held pose and stopping if you experience pain.