The first group did not do any stretching before running or kept the current pre-running practice routine: the same mileage, warm-up activities (excluding stretching exercises) and so on.
The second group will stretch, and do some simple and traditional stretching activities according to the photos received and some specific requirements, such as bending over and touching the toes to stretch the calf, hamstring and quadriceps femoris. Keep each stretching position for 20 seconds. This method is called static stretching. It takes 3-5 minutes to complete the whole set of stretching exercises, and then the volunteers go running immediately.
Volunteers practiced for 3 months as required. It can be predicted that many volunteers were injured in these three months, because running is a sport with a high injury rate.
In the group that didn't stretch before running, 16% of the volunteers limped seriously and missed at least three days of training (the researcher defined this as sports injury), but the same proportion also happened in the group that stretched before running.
In other words, the ratio of the two groups is exactly the same. It can be confirmed that static stretching has no preventive effect on sports injuries. Therefore, the author of this study concludes that stretching before running can neither prevent nor promote sports injuries compared with not stretching before running. However, in that case, why do so many people in the world still stretch before running?
Stretching is a controversial topic in sports. At present, most scientific research results strongly show that static stretching before exercise will not prevent excessive injury, but may affect athletes' performance.
Rostak, a South African physiologist and co-author of the online edition of Sports Science, said: Stretching has a great influence on the nervous system, and reflected waves can prevent muscles from overstretching. This reflected wave is activated by static stretching, which will cause muscle contraction to protect itself.
It was previously found that high jumpers would jump lower if they stretched statically before taking off, because they could not generate enough energy. At the same time, other studies, such as the report of New IAAF, also found that static stretching seems to have little effect on preventing sports injuries, especially the common excessive injuries in running.
Malac mchugh, director of sports medicine and sports injury research at Nicholas college, said: the current research results are consistent with the known conclusions. In April, he also published a paper on comprehensive examination of 10 annual tensile value in Scandinavian Journal of Sports Medicine and Science, and he was the main author of the paper.
But many people still decide to continue their routine stretching before running. "It is really difficult to divide athletes who have been stretching into non-stretching groups," said Alan Ross, a former member of the American Athletics Committee and coordinator of the study. As soon as they realized that they couldn't stretch before running for three months, they didn't want to take part in the study. It took researchers more than two years to persuade enough people to join in, complete the research activities, and obtain enough data to prove this important result.
Dr. Dan Joel, a plastic surgeon in Washington, DC, who initiated and led the study, thinks these results are far-reaching. He said: "I used to believe that stretching can prevent injuries, and I am still very sure, but the current research results are not the case." On the contrary, the study found that static stretching will not be particularly helpful, but it will not cause any harm.
The IAAF study also found a strange phenomenon: those who were assigned to groups that did not stretch before running, but had the habit of stretching before running, were very vulnerable to injury, with a high proportion. About 23% people were injured in these three months. However, experts who are related to the study or have seen the results of the study do not think that this phenomenon can explain that the habit of stretching before is the reason to prevent them from being injured all the time.
Dr. mchugh said that it is very likely that they were victims of wrong training, that is, the training method suddenly changed. Your body has adapted to a certain pattern, and so has the runner. Your body is used to a single pattern, and a slight change may lead to injury.
So does this IAAF study mainly say, whether you are stretching or not, please keep it the same? Probably, but most physiologists who have a broad perspective on today's science may object.
Dr Tucker said: "At present, all elite athletes who are related to us no longer do this static stretching." Top science shows that the ideal prelude to exercise is "simple warm-up", "then gradually increase the intensity and then do dynamic stretching". Dynamic stretching, or increasing joint motion through continuous exercise, does not seem to activate the reflected waves that promote muscle self-protection, he said.
Dr. Tucker said: "By moving and stretching, the brain can move together, learn proprioception and control, and improve flexibility."
In fact, Fairwalton suggested dynamic stretching, which does not require you to touch your toes forward or stretch your calf muscles against the wall. You can take a step forward and then throw it back to make a perfect arc. Phil Wharton is a neuromuscular physiotherapist. Together with his father Jim, he founded Wharton Behavior Clinic in new york. Or open your legs to both sides and cross them in front to warm up your hip joint, he said.
But when changing your routine warm-up method, take your time and be careful.
Dr. Pireire said that one lesson that can be drawn from the results of American track and field research is that it may not be a good idea to make any sudden changes.