Virtual Medical Centre

Exercise Stretches

• The importance of stretching
• Muscle flexibility
• Tips for stretching

The importance of stretching 

Stretching refers to the flexion and extension of the skeletal muscles that are used during exercise. Stretching is an important part of exercise preparation and recovery. A lot of pressure and strain is put on your muscles, tendons and joints during exercise. If these tender spots are not stretched out, your muscles will become knotted. After a while, these knots become worse and start affecting other muscles. In the short-term it may not pose too much of a problem, but eventually it may result in a muscle injury that will prevent you from doing more exercise. 

Muscle flexibility

Studies have found that regular stretching improves muscle flexibility. The flexibility of a muscle is its maximum range of motion around a joint. Increased flexibility has been shown to be associated with higher and longer jumps, and increased core stability and power. Having flexible muscles and joints helps decrease muscle stiffness and soreness which, in turn, prevents further injury.

Stetching to improve flexibility can be carried out at any time, not just before or after exercise. If you are going to stretch without exercising beforehand, make sure that your muscles are slightly worked or warm to prevent a strain or tear.

Tips for stretching 

Although most exercise physiologists suggest stretching before and after exercise, the main benefits of stretching are obtained from post-exercise stretching. However, pre-exercise stretching is extremely important for sports such as dancing and gymnastics. Post-exercise stretching should start within 10 minutes of finishing exercise, before the muscles have a chance to tighten up.

Below are some important points to remember while stretching:

• Never stretch on muscles that have not been warmed up with at least 5 minutes of low intensity physcial activity.
• Stretch until you feel a "stretch" or tension. Muscles should never be strained to the point of pain.
• Hold post-exercise stretches for at least 30 seconds per stretch.
• Stretch slowly.
• Breath out at as you ease into the stretch.

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Article Dates:

Created: 17/11/2008

Modified: 10/6/2009