Static stretching to increase your flexibility is an extremely important part of your health care regime and everyone should be stretching multiple times a week, if not every day. What's most important though is the timing of it.
When you stretch, you are lengthening your muscles and other soft tissues, so after stretching you're joints are actually vulnerable to injury for approximately 90 minutes. So you need to stretch either after a workout, or ideally when you are relaxing at home and not planning on following the stretching session with a workout.
However, I am also not suggesting you start a run or a workout cold, otherwise you will create even more injuries than of you stretch. Instead, what you need is a dynamic warmup. Getting the blood pumping through all of your tissues is what will best protect you from injury. Walk for 5-10 minutes then jog for 5-10 minutes, followed by some light dynamic stretching (such as hip swings, light half lunges etc) and then some sport specific dynamic movements if you're going to be playing sport (like Baseballers do when they warm up by throwing the ball from increasingly further distances).
The dynamic warmup performed the correct way will give your joints and soft tissues the best possible protection from injury, however if you do still hurt yourself, always ice the injured area as immediately as possible, and if the pain lasts for more than 3 days get assessed by a good Sports Chiropractor who deals with more than just the spine.
Comments
Post a Comment