A lot has been written about the subject of stretching and flexibility in sports. Studies abound on the effects of flexibility on muscular strength, joint motion, and injury prevention, but the picture seems to become more muddled with every passing day, with even the conventional wisdom that static stretching improves flexibility over resistance training recently called into question [1]. But the fact remains: stretching improves flexibility, a foundation for athletic success.
It's time to get back to basics and answer three questions:
Why does an athlete need to stretch?
How much should an athlete stretch? and
The main reason for stretching is to maximize available movement with minimal internal restrictions from soft tissue. Essentially, stretching limbers up the muscles so energy is focused on completing a task, not fighting against the body.
Stretching allows athletes to kick higher, reach longer, and generally move without bodily limitations.
Unlike strength, speed, or power, flexibility does not fall into the category of "more is better." There is such a thing as too much flexibility, where an athlete's joints are too loose and instability leads to injury and early arthritis.
On the hand, too little flexibility limits an athlete's available motion and control and may increase the risk of tearing a muscle, tendon, or other tissue due to inelasticity (although the research on this point is cloudy).
Before you enroll your child in a yoga class to increase her flexibility, there are three main factors to consider in determining his flexibility needs:
1. Individual and Sport Variables
2. Muscles prone to tightness
Here are the muscles that are prone to tightness and may need to be stretch to provide the necessary degree of flexibility appropriate for that athlete in that particular sport:
For some simple tests to determine flexibility of the major muscles used in soccer, click here [4].
3. Commitment
Stretching requires a commitment of time. Some have it, some don't, some fall in-between.
Athletes fall across a spectrum. Some:
Considering these three main factors will help a young athlete figure out their stretching needs. The reason for finding a balance is that the benefits of flexibility, like the grades of a class in school, fall on bell curve, with extremes on the ends and a sweet spot in the middle:
By understanding the basics and tailoring a stretching program to an individual athlete's needs, sport, injury history, and level of commitment, a proper stretching program can be designed that the athlete will actually follow.
A well-designed stretching program might include the following elements:
Which is best? The answer is all of them, in balance:
First, of all, every athlete should warm up before competition. The body needs to prepare for intense movement and muscle contractions and an elevated body temperature increasing soft tissue extensibility.
What about dynamic versus static stretching? The answer to that question takes us back to the first two questions asked above: (1) why do athletes need to stretch?; and (2) how much should athletes stretch?
So, here's the bottom line:
When it comes to the question of stretching, the first answer should always be "yes." Too often, young athletes overlook this very basic component of sports preparation because it is boring, they are inpatient, and throwing, catching, or shooting a ball is much more interesting.
Flexibility is a fundamental building block in sports performance, an important factor along with core training, balance, proprioception (e.g. the sense that indicates whether the body is moving with required effort, as well as where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other), and joint stability and mobility.
The more interesting dynamics of athletic training - including speed, power, endurance, reaction, quickness, etc. - all build off of the building blocks of training, including maintaining/improving flexibility. Understanding the basic components of why, how, and what in respects to stretching are critical for long term athletic success.
Keith J. Cronin is a physical therapist in the St. Louis, Missouri area and a MomsTeam expert
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/3082
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/284
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/609
[4] https://www.momsteam.com/node/543
[5] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2606
[6] https://www.momsteam.com/node/2926
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/general-safety/injury-prevention/dynamic-stretching-recommended-as-part-sports-warm-up
[8] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/improving-flexibility-resistance-training-as-good-as-static-stretching
[9] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/general-safety/injury-prevention/stretching-before-sports-muscle-length-before-muscle-strength
[10] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/stretching-warm-ups-and-cool-downs-prevent-youth-spor