Laurie's Blogs.

So on the Member’s side of FourLeg.com I have an article that I wrote for my Master’s degree about 10 year ago on the subject of stretching; when it’s good and when it’s not.  Given an e-mail question that came in recently, I wanted to elaborate on the current thoughts & science behind stretching, so here goes!

There is a difference in kinds of stretching; Dynamic or Static.  Static stretching is the slow holding stretches that we are all familiar with from our school days.  Dynamic stretching on the other hand is a form of stretching with constant movement… you could also think of it as active ROM into different directions.

Two studies looked at time needed to recover strength after static stretching.  The first one looked at stretching the calf muscles and found that the time to recover power & strength (as tested by doing calf raises) was somewhere between 5 – 10 minutes. The second study looked at a full lower body stretching protocol and examined the effects on sprinting and jumping.  The latter study found that there was reduced performance for 24 hours after stretching! It also looked at dynamic stretching and found that it actually improved power.  So that’s all pretty interesting!  Firstly, the gastrocnemius is designed to be elastic and function from a stretched position (i.e. running, jumping, landing), so its resiliency to stretching is interesting.  Stretching the entire lower body on the other hand was bad for performance up to a day later.  Hmm… so we need to keep that in mind.  And dynamic stretching was good.  Well at least that is good news!

 Dynamic stretching seems to help improve range of motion, and also elevates the core temperature, which can increase nerve conduction velocity, muscle compliance, and enzymatic cycling, accelerating energy production. What does this mean? Well, unlike static stretching, which tells the body’s muscles to calm, dynamic stretching excites your body’s systems and gets the body prepared for further movement.

But there are plenty of static stretching myths that continue to propagate.  Let’s just throw these facts out there:
Stretching does not warm up your tissues.
Stretching does not prevent delayed onset muscle soreness.
Stretching does not prevent injury.
Stretching does not enhance athletic performance.
Stretching does make you more flexible.  But do you want that?  Do you need that?  Do you already have sufficient ROM?

The latter question is an important one to think about.  Think of a sprinter.  He/she needs powerful muscles with enough stiffness to transmit forces to bones to get speed.  Really, all that’s needed here is sufficient ROM to accomplish the task. However a soccer player needs to be very agile in multiple directions, and so may need additional ROM or flexibility.  Their stretching needs could be quite different.

Want to keep it simple?  A good general rule would be “Strive to be in the Goldilocks Zone.”  The Goldilocks Zone means that you want to have muscles that are just tight enough so that you get an efficient transfer of energy and just flexible enough, that it doesn’t impair your stride length.  I would also add that symmetry should also be addressed.  Check flexibility from side to side and address it accordingly.
There is really only one “benefit” to stretching and that is that it does increase flexibility. For whatever it’s worth, people do seem to be more flexible when they stretch regularly for a while. 

Citing of a review paper in Physical Therapy 2010:
Increases in muscle extensibility observed immediately after stretching and after short-term (3 to 8-week) stretching programs are due to an alteration of sensation only and not to an increase in muscle length. This theory is referred to as the sensory theory throughout this article because the change in subjects’ perception of sensation is the only current explanation for these results.

What on earth does this mean?
What this means is that muscle length does not change, especially in response to an average stretching regime. However our willingness to elongate it probably does!  Therefore elongation must be modulated by the neurologic system.  The brain and the spinal cord determine and decide how far your muscles will lengthen.  So stretching really is just a training of the nervous system to allow elongation to occur.

"Body is not stiff.  Mind is stiff" – K. Pattabhi Jois

What to suggest?
Athletes should focus solely on dynamic stretching within their warm up in order to improve performance.  Passive stretching should be kept to a minimum with the goal being to find the right balance between full ROM and appropriate stiffness along with symmetry from side to side.

“People suggestion”:
1)    Always warm up first – before exercise or before stretching  (Mild aerobic warm up i.e. 5 mins walking or slow jogging to increase blood flow, muscle temperature, which helps make the collagen fibres more elastic)
2)    After warming up, do dynamic (not static) stretches. Dynamic stretching means slow, controlled movements rather than remaining still and holding a stretch. They may include simple movements like arm circles and hip rotations, flowing movements as in yoga, or walking or jogging exercises like those mentioned below. While studies have not clearly proven this, increasing numbers of experts agree that dynamic stretching is the best stretching routine before a workout or competition.
     a.    Goose stepping
     b.    Butt-kicks
     c.    High knee raises
     d.    Yoga moves (i.e. sun salutations)
3)    AFTER workout or competition, THEN do static stretching.  (But not the day before a competition.)
     a.    Holding for about 30 seconds.
     b.    Do not stretch to pain
     c.    Do sport specific stretches

So… based on this information & science, what would YOU suggest for the different canine sporting athletes? 

Resources:
http://www.outsideonline.com/2055626/rethink-everything-you-know-about-stretching - article-2055626
https://www.painscience.com/articles/stretching.php
http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/two-new-studies-on-static-stretching-are-completely-conflicting
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/new-ideas-on-proper-stretching-techniques