Stretching before running may create tiny micro-tears in the muscle fibers and tendons which may effect endurance capacity and injury.
- micro-tearing from stretching has been shown to temporarily comprise the ability of the muscles and tendons to absorb energy and shock for up to 1 hour
- stretching increases the fragility and stress-susceptibility in the muscle fiber
- researchers propose that stretching before a run induces structural changes to muscle fibers and tendons
- stretching induced structural changes may cause certain muscles and tendons to be less responsive during running which in turn, may result in pre-mature fatigue, or injury
Stretching Before Running Leads Injury
One of the rationale’s behind Run Forefoot is to promote natural running. Running comes natural to humans because early humans (hominids) used long distance running as the primary hunting method. Do you think our ancestors, 4 millions years ago, stretched before they ran?
Evidence on Protective Effects of Stretching is Lacking, HUGELY
Who said runners needed to be flexible? Our ancestors 3 millions years ago ran long distances daily while barefoot, never stretched, and did fine.
Too Many Questions, No Answers
If stretching before running is, in some way, beneficial to a runner, what is the right amount of flexibility needed to be injury free, or to gain efficiency? This has not been quantified yet.
Or, would stretching one muscle group effect the function of other neighboring muscle groups? This remains poorly understood as well.
To what degree does stretching before running reduce injury in well-conditioned elite runners, or in well-conditioned recreational runners? Again, this remains unclear.
Just Warm-Up!
Too many unanswered questions remain about the role of stretching before running on injury prevention. Therefore, it is probably not the greatest idea to stretch before a run.
I went through a period in my training where I incorporated calf stretches before running, until I partially tore my Achilles tendon. When I referred to the scientific literature, I discovered that one of the risk factors for an Achilles tear was ‘aggressive calf stretching’. I never stretch now and have felt great ever since.
Accumulating research suggests an effective way to prevent running injuries is to do proper warm-ups before running:
- warm-ups increase heart rate and muscle temperature and has been shown to be effective in injury prevention in runners compared to stretching
- more research indicates a warm muscle is less likely to get injured than if the muscle was stretched
The best warm ups for me is a nice light jog for 15 minutes, sometimes I walk fast for a 2-3 minutes during this time. Skipping rope is another great way to warm up. Butt-kicking drills are also great.
The Take Home Message
My theory is the human body functions best in terms of movement and energy expenditure when in its natural context such as walking and running.
Activities such as stretching may be an unnatural action for the body because if it wasn’t, we as humans would be more flexible than we are. Stretching is for gymnasts, not necessarily for runners.
More From Run Forefoot:
- Best Shoes for Forefoot Running
- What Happens When You Heel Strike in Minimalist Shoe?
- How Barefoot Running Protects the Hips
- Run Barefoot If You Run a Treadmill
- Best Books for Barefoot Running
References:
Armstrong, RB. Mechanisms of exercise-induced delayed onset muscular soreness: a brief review. Med Sci Sports Exerc (1984);16(6):529-38.
Gleim et al. The influence of flexibility on the economy of walking and jogging. J Orthop Res (1990); 8(6):814-23.
Nelson et al. Chronic stretching and running economy. Scand J Med Sci Sports (2001); 11(5):260-5.
Many running authors seem to think humans took to running to chase down animals to eat but archeologist and electron microscopic examination of ancient human teeth seem to show that humans initial adaptation to running vast distances was motivated by the need to safety and efficiently go from fruit grove to fruit grove until for unknown reasons they found themselves facing starvation out in the savananas and tundras. Our bodies are still today optimally designed to thrive on a diet of primarily fruits supplemented with various greens and veggies in their raw and most potent stages of life.
9nu7un
8skkz3
h92wrs
p4evwl
bnmrai
Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization?
I’m trying to get my website to rank for some targeted keywords
but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.
Thanks! I saw similar article here: Eco product
03oxgw
so much excellent info on here, : D.
Nice Article
67e4vx
kowtpf
Great post. I am facing a couple of these problems.
You are a very bright individual!
F*ckin’ tremendous things here. I am very satisfied to peer your article. Thank you so much and i am taking a look forward to touch you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is truly informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Numerous people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
of course like your website however you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the truth then again I will certainly come again again.
Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?
I’m trying to get my website to rank for some targeted keywords
but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.
Thank you! I saw similar article here: Code of destiny
5p0293
nintdr
Very interesting topic, thanks for putting up.
I am really inspired with your writing talents as well as with the structure to your blog. Is that this a paid topic or did you customize it your self? Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it is uncommon to look a great blog like this one nowadays. I like runforefoot.com ! It is my: BrandWell
I am extremely inspired along with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid subject matter or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice high quality writing, it is rare to peer a great weblog like this one these days. I like runforefoot.com ! Mine is: Stan Store
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
I like this web site because so much utile stuff on here : D.
Awsome info and straight to the point. I am not sure if this is really the best place to ask but do you guys have any ideea where to employ some professional writers? Thanks 🙂
I am no longer positive the place you are getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or figuring out more. Thank you for excellent information I used to be in search of this information for my mission.
Thank you for sharing with us, I conceive this website really stands out : D.