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The Great Debate Over Stretching Exercises

© Dr. David L. Phillips

Recently there has been much examination and new-found criticism in the media over stretching as an exercise. A major US-based study has launched a barrage of mild condemnation over the age-old concept of athletic stretching exercises.

The study, a review of six decades of research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that stretching does little to prevent injury during exercise except as part of a warm-up. In a few cases, the study found that the increased flexibility that stretching promotes may actually impede performance.

Evidently, the researchers who authored the study analyzed 361 scientific articles on stretching published since 1946. The findings were published in the March 2004 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. The literature review suggested that athletes who devote pre-exercise time to stretching may be better served with a warm-up that prepares the body for activity, and regular exercises that build strength and balance.

Unfortunately, the massive media exposure that this study garnered has cast doubt and suspicion on all forms of stretch exercises. I am very sensitive to this debate as I have been a big proponent of stretching for many years. I have recommended this form of exercise for my patients virtually universally, especially for those with lower back problems.

What we need to keep very clear is that the much-touted study dealt largely with athletes who were stretching before their game or event. For the average person who can be pretty much described as non-athletic, stretching exercises are very much the key to keeping fit. As a daily routine, a brief set of stretch-and-hold poses can set a person up for the day, keep them mobile and flexible, as well as helping to maintain proper posture and body-awareness.

Stretching stimulates and tones the proprioceptive branch of the nervous system. The flexibility gained from doing regular stretches goes a long way towards helping prevent all manner of strain/sprain injuries and even episodes of falling.

In my office, it's routine that once a patient is out of the early acute phase of their problem, I offer a schedule of stretch exercises, especially the lower back pain patients. I mostly recommend that these be done first thing upon arising, when we generally are at our stiffest. I have a simple set of 12-15 stretch poses that will take the patient about 8-10 minutes. This sheet of sketches of people stretching is designed to affect all the major muscles of the weight-bearing system. The low back patient would then spend 15-25 seconds holding various stretch poses involving the calves, both thighs from all sides, buttock muscles, groins, and lower and mid-back.

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