A stretch in time…

November 3rd, 2008 Mithun Mukherjee Posted in Education, General

Stretching! That ever important ritual before (and after) a hard match. Some of us do it, some do not but eventually it catches up with all of us causing injuries we could do without – especially in a sport like squash which has our bodies lunging and twisting in all directions. Some interesting excerpts from an excellent NYT article that explains the virtues of combining static and dynamic techniques into a sport specific stretching routine.

…Stretching muscles while moving, on the other hand, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion….
Dynamic stretching is at its most effective when it’s relatively sports specific….
…Athletes who need to move rapidly in different directions, like soccer, tennis or basketball players, should do dynamic stretches that involve many parts of the body….
…While static stretching is still almost universally practiced among amateur athletes, it doesn’t improve the muscles’ ability to perform with more power, physiologists now agree. “You may feel as if you’re able to stretch farther after holding a stretch for 30 seconds,” McHugh says, “so you think you’ve increased that muscle’s readiness.” But typically you’ve increased only your mental tolerance for the discomfort of the stretch. The muscle is actually weaker….

Read the entire article (with video) from the New York Times.