How Does Stretching Prevent Injury?
One of the greatest benefits of stretching is that you're able to increase the
length of both your muscles and tendons. This leads to an increased range of movement,
which means your limbs and joints can move further before an injury occurs. Let's
take a look at a few examples.
If the muscles in your neck are tight and stiff this limits your ability to look
behind or turn your head around. If for some reason your head is turned backwards,
past its' normal range of movement, in a football scrum or tackle for example, this
could result in a muscle tear or strain. You can help to prevent this from happening
by increasing the flexibility, and the range of movement, of the muscles and tendons
in your neck.
And what about the muscles in the back of your legs: The Hamstring muscles? These
muscles are put under a huge strain when doing any sort of sport which involves
running and especially for sports which require kicking. Short, tight hamstring
muscles can spell disaster for many sports people. By ensuring these muscles are
loose and flexible, you'll cut your chance of a hamstring injury dramatically.
How else can stretching help? While injuries can occur at any time, they are more
likely to occur if the muscles are fatigued, tight and depleted of energy. Fatigued,
tight muscles are also less capable of performing the skills required for your particular
sport or activity. Stretching can help to prevent an injury by promoting recovery
and decreasing soreness. Stretching ensures that your muscles and tendons are in
good working order. The more conditioned your muscles and tendons are, the better
they can handle the rigors of sport and exercise, and the less likely that they'll
become injured.
So as you can see, there's more to stretching than most people think. Stretching
is a simple and effective activity that will help you to enhance your athletic performance,
decrease your likelihood of sports injury and minimize muscle soreness.
Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance,
preventing sports injury and properly rehabilitating sprain and strain injury. Don't
make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won't be effective.