Is Stretching Before Exercise Harmful?
Stretching before fitness training and athletic training is being made out to be a time-waster, not needed, and even harmful. This is not true. In fact, there’s a recent study that evaluates all the research on stretching, and the study concludes: “Due to the paucity (small number), heterogeneity (dissimilar study subjects) and poor quality of the available studies no definitive conclusions can be drawn as to the value of stretching for reducing the risk of exercise-related injury.”(The efficacy of stretching for prevention of exercise-related injury: a systematic review of the literature, 2003, Weldon) Essentially, the researchers are telling us that there are not enough quality studies to draw conclusions about this issue.
