Thursday, November 17, 2011

To Stretch or Not to Stretch: Part II

About a year and a half ago, I did a blog post on whether or not you should stretch before or after exercise. Yesterday, an article came out in the New York Times summarizing recent research on the role of stretching in preventing injury, muscle soreness, etc. Basically what the authors summarized was that stretching does not reduce the number of injuries or muscle soreness. On the other hand, stretching does not increase the number of injuries or muscle soreness. This does not mean, however, that stretching is bad and that you should not do it. If you like to stretch before or after a workout, and it makes you feel better, then you should continue to stretch. If you do not stretch or do not want to stretch, then at this point, there is no scientific evidence available that states you are at greater risk for an injury or muscle soreness.