By Emily R Pappas, M.S.

Decades ago, static stretching was claimed to be an effective way to help reduce injury risks in athletes. But as times change, so does our understanding of what static stretching does and DOES NOT do for our athletes.

So is stretching the golden ticket to keeping female athletes healthy??

Quick Answer: NO.

In fact, in some scenarios static stretching could cause more harm than good.

Keep reading to find out what the current research tells us about static stretching for our female athletes.

The Science of Joint Mobility & Injury Risks

 The mobility of a joint determines the maximum range of motion the joint can move through without injury.

Increasing joint mobility allows for movement in more favorable positions.  These are positions allow better biomechanics for loading your muscles in a way that maximizes their ability to both produce and absorb forces. 

Injury occurs when ill-equipped tissues (like ligaments and bones) are exposed to forces too high for them to handle (either ACUTELY— think direct impact; or CHRONICALLY— think overuse injuries like tendonitis.)

When forces are too high, injuries can occur because:  1) the tissue is simply not strong enough to handle the outside force  2) the tissue is not positioned favorably via the joint  or 3) a combination of both.

Increasing your joint mobility will allow for better positions.  BUT you must also be strong in those positions to dissipate these forces.

What is Static Stretching?

Static stretching is the process of pulling the body into a certain position and holding that position for several seconds (30-60s). Think of when n athlete grabs her ankle towards her butt to stretch your quad and hip. This is a static stretch!

This type of stretch feels GREAT for athletes who may be experiencing a pain or tightness in a given area. By PULLING on a muscle, the sensation of tightness can be eliminated in the SHORT TERM .

The resulting range of motion of the joint after static stretching has been shown to last for around 3-15min POST stretch! 

 
However, pulling on a muscle does not induce LONG TERM CHANGES to the tissue. Think of stretching as a great means to alleviate a symptom, however it does NOT address the CAUSE of the tightness.

Even more, the additional gain of range of motion in a joint is NOT an effective means of reducing injury risks. This is is because  better positions alone will not be enough to reduce the chance of injury unless there is also STRENGTH within that range of motion.

This is why strength training is ESSENTIAL for the female athlete. (see more below)

Is static stretching an appropriate warm up?  

Why does an athlete even warm up? When she increases the blood flow to her muscles before a game or training, they are better able to PERFORM when called upon. 

More blood flow means an increased delivery of nutrients, oxygen, and other essentials to her muscles when they are needed most.

Think of it this way, as muscles receive more blood flow, they start to “wake up.”  The more ALERT or prepared muscles are prior to performance,  the better their ability to PRODUCE high forces—quickly—like when an athlete is kicking a ball, sprinting down a field, or lifting a new PR.

The more ALERT or prepared muscles are prior to performance, the better their ability to also ABSORB high forces.  This is extremely important when considering reducing chances of injury.  As an athlete is sprinting, jumping, or changing direction, her body is exposed to HIGH FORCES. The greater the ability of her muscles to ABSORB and dissipate these forces, the LESS force is exposed to other tissues such as her ligaments, tendons, and bones.

By increasing blood flow to the muscles, warm ups help prepare athletes’ to both PERFORM and REDUCE injury risks.

So does static stretching benefit an athlete in her warm up?

Research tells us NO.

A better way to warm up: Static vs. Dynamic Stretching

In a static stretch, the opposing muscles of a joint are under high muscular tension. High tension constricts the capillaries of the muscle.  When capillaries are constricted, blood flow DECREASES.  Lack of blood flow to the muscle means less alert muscles for performance and force absorption!  

Then how can an athlete better prepare her body to achieve better ranges of motion and increased blood flow before her game? Enter- DYNAMIC STRETCHING!

In a dynamic stretch, an athlete MOVES her joints through larger ranges of motion via MOVEMENT versus maintaining that range through a static hold.  

Consider an athlete performing a SPLIT SQUAT to help increase her HIP and QUAD range of motion as opposed to a static stretch. A couple sets of 5-8 per leg will allow her quad and hip to achieve a similar range of motion as a static stretch, but with the added bonus of blood flow!  

 
This increase in blood flow means more awake muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Remember, increasing blood flow through MOVEMENT helps prepare athletes to better PRODUCE force and ABSORB IT during game time!

Static Stretching can be DETRIMENTAL to performance

Static stretching can aid in athletes’ improving their range of motion over time. However, as stated earlier, these improvements in ranges of motions are ONLY favorable when there is concurrent STRENGTH within that range of motion.

Athletes performing static stretches before games or training may only help improve her joint mobility in the short-term. However, short term joint improvements are not enough to reduce a chance of injury.  To make matters worse, decreasing blood flow tor muscles before activity can actually increase your chance of injury!

Even more, research indicates performing static stretches before high intensity activity can actually DECREASE an athlete’s performance!  

For athletes who engage in high-speed, high-force sports that requires movements like sprinting and jumping, static isometric holds effectively DECREASE a muscle’s ability to produce high forces. This means slower sprints or lower jumps.  

 
Research shows similar negative results of stretching prior to strength endurance sports like rowing.   Muscles that are exposed to static stretching prior to performance have been shown to have a DECREASE in the muscles’ ability to sustain a higher force output for a longer period of time.  This means less powerful rows later in the race, when athlete’s need them the most!

Static stretching AFTER activity?

If static stretching prior to activity is detrimental, what about after activity?

After an athlete is done performing, the goal is to COOL DOWN to allow for a GRADUAL decrease in body temperature. During this period, blood flow to active muscles should GRADUALLY decrease to help eliminate any accumulated metabolites and provide additional nutrients needed for fast recovery (like protein & carbohydrates).

For athletes looking to reduce their risk of injury, adding static stretches POST activity will function to CONSTRICT blood flow. This means LESS nutrient delivery and waste removal as well as a more ABRUPT decrease in body temperature.

For athletes looking to RELAX after training, stretching does induce parasympathetic modulation. However, it is advisable for this goal to be achieved AFTER a more gradual cool down.

A case for strength training

As stated above, injuries occur when too much force is applied to a tissue acutely or chronically than it has the capacity to handle. To improve a tissue’s capacity, we can:

1) increase the STRENGTH of that tissue

2) Improve the DIRECTION that force is applied via improved joint mechanics

When considering static stretching as a means for injury prevention, isometric holds only improve option #2. Unfortunately, pulling on a muscle will NOT induce any long term changes to the tissue that will allow for a greater capacity to tolerate forces in the future.

In a review in 2018, researchers concluded STRENGTH TRAINING is a SUPERIOR, dose- dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sport injuries. In fact, strength training reduced sports injuries to less than 1/3 and overuse injuries almost by 1/2.

Even more, stretching was the ONLY modality that provided NO CHANGE in outcomes for injury reduction. Making static stretching obsolete.

So what makes strength training superior?

Strength training helps not only IMPROVE joint mechanics (and overall ranges of motion), but it also helps IMPROVE the body’s capacity to absorb higher forces! Even more, these adaptations are LONG LASTING and DOSE DEPENDENT.

This means FREQUENCY and CONSISTENCY of a strength training regime will have the GREATEST effects on reducing injuries for athletes long term.

In conclusion

Injuries occur when too much force is applied to a tissue than it has the capacity to handle— either in a moment or compounded over time.

Decreasing injury risks are directly related to the body’s ability to improve its capacity to handle higher forces. This can be accomplished by strengthening its tissues and by improving a joint’s full range of motion to allow for more favorable positions for greater force absorption by more equipped tissues (like muscle)

Long term static stretching via yoga or other practices will help improve joint mobility. However ONLY STRENGTH TRAINING will help improve joint mobility while also providing an increase of strength WITHIN that new range of motion. .   

Remember, improved mobility is only beneficial for reducing injury risks if there is STRENGTH within that new range of motion.

Static stretching alone is not enough to reduce the chance of injuries, but strength training is.

References:

1.Andersen, J. C. “Stretching Before and After Exercise: Effect on Muscle Soreness and Injury Risk.” Journal of Athletic Training 40.3 (2005): 218–220. Print.

2.Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2018;52:1557-1563.

3.Thomas and Williams, Alun G. “Effects of differential stretching protocols during warm-ups on high speed motor capacities in professional soccer players”. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 20 (1). (2006). pp. 203-7. ISSN 1064-8011

4.Warren Young & Simon Elliott. “Acute Effects of Static Stretching, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching, and Maximum Voluntary Contractions on Explosive Force Production and Jumping Performance”.  Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 72:3, 273-279, (2001). DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2001.10608960

About the Author

Emily holds a M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Temple University and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Drexel University. Through this education, Emily values her ability to coach athletes with a perspective that is grounded in biomechanics and human physiology. Outside of the classroom, Emily has experience coaching and programming at the Division I Collegiate Level working as an assistant strength coach for an internship with Temple University’s Women’s Rugby team.

In addition, Emily holds her USAW Sport Performance certification and values her ability to coach athletes using “Olympic” Weightlifting. Emily is extremely passionate about the sport of Weightlifting, not only for the competitive nature of the sport, but also for the application of the lifts as a tool in the strength field. Through these lifts, Emily has been able to develop athletes that range from grade school athletes to nationally ranked athletes in sports such as lacrosse, field hockey, and weightlifting.

Emily is also an adjunct at Temple University, instructing a course on the development of female athletes.