Does Stretching Affect Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)?
Herbert & Gabriel (2002) performed a systematic review examining articles relating to stretching and the recovery from DOMS. Their review found that stretching produced a small but not statistically significant reduction in DOMS after 24. 48, and 72 hours post exercise. The subjects were all young, healthy volunteers, and stretching times were variable. This finding is not entirely conclusive, as most of the research is limited to younger subjects. There is also no conclusive evidence as to the cause of DOMS in the first place. It is possible that the type of stretching, length of time stretching, and muscle groups stretched could influence the outcome of future research. Post exercise stretching can therefore at the moment come down to personal preference. Does Stretching Help To Prevent Injuries? Some studies do suggest static stretching will lead to a reduction in injury rates, but a lot of this research is inconclusive. Shrier (1999) found in a review of literature that three trial
