ASICS PRO Team Podiatrist Clifton Bradeley talks to us about his views on the hot topic of stretching before running.ASICS PRO Team Podiatrist Clifton Bradeley talks to us about his views on the hot topic of stretching before running.
There has always been much debate and disagreement about whether you should or shouldn’t stretch before you run. Much of this debate has been fuelled by research, which first claimed that you don’t need to and then later that you should stretch before venturing out of your door. My position on this has always been the same since I was a young athlete, but especially since I became a sports injury specialist twenty-two years ago. That is, yes you should stretch before any rapid dynamic activity! Certain structures like muscles and tendons and ligaments may be more likely to get injured if you start running from a cold static start. What I mean by this is first thing on a frosty winters morning, or after sitting all day at a desk at work and then rushing out for a run, a scenario we all know well!
Very few of us want to do a full body stretch routine before we go for a run, and many of us certainly don’t have the time. The good news is you don’t need to, but please at least stretch your calves (back of the lower legs), hamstrings (back of the upper legs) and quads (front of the thigh) before you run as these are the structures that have to increase their range most rapidly during flexion and extension of the leg joints during the running action from a ‘cold’ start. Even better still if you can do dynamic stretches that mimic the action you are about to put them through, and there are plenty of examples of dynamic stretches on the internet if you Google them.
So, what are the benefits to your musculoskeletal system and physiology in brief?
- Informing the body and brain via stretch receptor nerves of the pending activity, which may reduce your risk of injury.
- Warming up the muscles and stretching the connective tissue.
- Stretching encourages the production of endorphin and encephalin, which are the body’s natural painkiller and feel good hormones.
- Prepares the body for action via the production of the hormone adrenaline.
- They mentally prepare you for action.
