Stretching to Reduce Joint and Muscle Injury Before Exercising

By Virginia Thomas

Proper stretching before and after you exercise is key to getting the most out of your workout. There are different types of stretches, depending on what you are trying to achieve. And the wrong type of stretching on the wrong muscle groups may increase your chances of joint or muscle injury.

Dynamic stretching

Dynamic stretching - the best type of pre-exercise stretching you can do - targets tight muscles by repeatedly moving into and out of the stretch position until they loosen up. The idea is to move slowly and never stop moving for more than a second or two. Basically, you want to replicate the movement you are about to engage in.

When running, for example, the leg flexes and extends. So you would begin your dynamic stretching before a run by slowly swinging your leg forward and backward, increasing the range of motion with each swing.

Static stretching

Static holding techniques used to lengthen short muscles may actually sedate the muscles being stretched if done prior to a workout. This is not a desirable result when you’re about to run or play a game of golf. Static stretching, on all the muscle groups involved in an exercise, is best done afterward.

To stretch the calves after a run, for example, step forward with the right leg in a lunge position. Keeping your left leg long and your heel in contact with the ground, slowly bend your right knee until you feel a stretch in the left calf. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Then repeat on the other side.

~ Virginia Thomas is a Pilates instructor with Flow Hood River Yoga and Health Studio.