By Dr. Kara L. Perkins PT, DPT, SFMA
The end of summer not only means return to school, but return to sports for many kids.
Due to the physical demand and variety of movements that any sport requires in order to succeed, movement preparation cannot be understated. One cannot just “stretch” before practicing or competing in a game. This will set the athlete up for failure, or worse, injury. This also applies to the adult athlete and weekend warrior. Dynamic stretching (aka dynamic warmup) has been proven to be much more beneficial when performing pre-sport activity in terms of both force production and risk of injury.
Static stretching is when you hold a stretch in a position for a period of time, usually 10-30 seconds, and then repeat (usually 3-5 times). The position should not be painful, however, it should also not be too comfortable. Static stretching has shown to be effective after activity, but not before.
As the article “Current Concepts in Muscle Stretching for Exercise and Rehabilitation” demonstrates, static stretching can actually reduce peak muscle contraction (a.k.a. strength, speed and power) immediately afterwards; possibly even several hours. Not only can this impact how effective the athlete will be, but the decreased force production can lead to increased stress placed on the joints and ligaments to do the muscles’ job of stabilizing. This can lead to increased risk of injury.
Now don’t get me wrong, static stretching is not bad for you, there is just a misconception of when it should be performed. Static stretching has been shown to be helpful in improving the flexibility and extensibility of a muscle tissue when performed after exercise. This positive effect of increasing flexibility is because the muscle is already “warmed up” as prior activity has increased blood flow and heated the area. Therefore, the muscle is more willing to stretch. For example, think of the muscle as a piece of cold pizza. When it is cold it is easily pulled apart. However, when heated, the cheese (muscle) stretches easier with less chance of tearing apart when a force is applied to it.
Instead of static stretching at the start of a workout, dynamic stretching is a better choice. Light intensity general activity that incorporates full body movements takes the muscles through their ranges of motion while increasing blood flow and the temperature of the muscle. This increase in blood flow and muscle temperature will allow for increased tissue extensibility, as well as increased efficiency of muscle contraction. Therefore, dynamic stretching improves muscle force (increased strength, speed and power) and decreases your risk of straining a muscle due to the increased tissue mobility.
So what are some good dynamic stretches to include in your warm up? Try these three simple, yet highly effective exercises before every workout to ensure a proper warm up and lower your risk of injury.
1. Bear crawls: Think of this like a traveling plank in a crawling position. Keep your torso rigid and core stable as you walk your plank forwards and backwards. Can also be performed side ways.
2. Inchworms: Start in a pushup position. Slowly walk your feet towards your hands moving as far as you can into a “V” position. Then slowly walk your hands out until your body is extended fully. Repeat 5-10 times.
3. Knee to chest: Walk forward while actively bringing one knee up to your chest. You can hug your knee closer to your body at the top of the movement.
Dr. Kara L. Perkins earned her doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now known as Rutgers Medical School) in 2013 and is an associate at ProFysio Physical Therapy. She has experience working with a variety of patients including those with post-surgical cases, sports injuries, balance difficulties and much more. Kara has a passion for helping others achieve their goals through manual therapy techniques, functional exercises and education.
