Anyone attempting to read up on may be excused for coming away somewhat confused. Literature devoted to the benefits of stretching abounds with recommendations that are clouded by misconceptions and conflicting research reports. Despite the absence of significant supporting research, stretching, following warm-up, has long been promoted as a method of preventing injury amongst athletes and fitness enthusiasts. However recent research in sports medicine requires that we examine this assumption in greater depth.

The stretch group who performed supervised stretching following a standard warm-up. The no-stretch or control group, who performed the same warm-up without stretching routine at the end of 12 weeks of training the researchers found no significant difference in the number of injuries recorded in the two groups, leading to the conclusion that a typical muscle stretching protocol performed during pre-exercise warm-ups does not produce clinically meaningful reductions in risk of exercise related injury in army recruits.

The type of exercise or activity to be performed determines the type of warm-up, however a well-designed warm-up should consist of two phases the general and the specific. Unfortunately this is where stretching often falls down, one only has to observe triathlon to question the value of holding a static position in order to prepare for this dynamic activity. Indeed the aims of these types of warm ups is to move body parts through ranges of motions, gradually increasing speed of movement towards what is likely to be experienced in the game situation. Elements such as sport specific movements, speed, actions, agility, coordination and balance then become the focus of the rather than static stretching.

With the aim of improving flexibility of tight or shortened muscles, tendons, joints, is important in order to reduce stress and strain on body parts. Thus stretching, as a complimentary training routine, can have a role in reducing stress on a particular limb or body part. However, this type of training is best done following exercise or as part of separate routine, for, as we have seen, stretching will have no effect on reducing the likelihood of immediate injury.

In summary, it is evident that static stretching, as an element of warm-up prior to exercise, has minimal value in the prevention of injury. Rather, warm-up should involve exercises that are specific to the sport that is to be performed. Stretching, however, does play an integral part in the long-term prevention of injury, particularly in those people who participate in regular exercise. In this way, stretching, as a complimentary training routine, has a significant role in reducing the stress on a particular limb or body part and is most appropriately performed following exercise or as part of a separate training routine. For more details visit