On stretching
Feb. 12th, 2019 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaberettI was recently linked to Paul Ingraham's article on the point (or lack thereof) of stretching, which I read with interest not least because stretches form a significant component of my physio programme.
Subjectively (or, looked at another way, with a sample size of one), regularly stretching my calves significantly reduces how tense they are by default, which in turn reduces my pain. Reduced pain levels are most noticeable when I'm lying down and trying to sleep, but it really does appear to be consistently the case that when I'm stretching, I hurt less. Calf stretches (when combined with strength training) also have the fascinating-to-me effect that shoes with high heels stop being actively more comfortable than flats. I'd been working on the assumption that this is the reverse causality to implication of long-term high-heel use in shortening calf muscles (study), i.e., my leg muscles are generally tighter than average to compensate for connective tissue laxity associated with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
I also stretch my upper body, mostly to encourage me to release tension in my upper back. Again, my experience is very much that this does reduce pain (in addition to "just" feeling good), albeit indirectly.
Ingraham says:
The argument as I understand it is that stretching prior to exercise doesn't alter the incidence of injury, doesn't "warm up", doesn't prevent Spatzen (DOMS, delayed-onset muscle soreness) and if anything is associated with a mild deterioration in athletic performance.
However, also cited is a Cochrane review finding that static stretching has no impact on muscle contractures.
The one consistent measurable effect Ingraham cites is increased flexibility, though this appears to be due to increased tolerance of the sensation of stretching, at least for short-term stretching sessions; as of 2010 (the same year as the famous small-scale study on the effects of high heels) the effects of long-term stretching programmes (>8 weeks) had not been evaluated; a 2018 review of 3- to 8-week stretching programmes found similar results. I'm not, however, turning up anything on longer-term stretching programmes as they pertain to EDS -- or, for that matter, anything suggesting that the result found for high heel use was erroneous.
Thoughts etc cheerfully solicited; I'm enjoying chewing over this and reassessing the place stretching has in my maintenance regime!
Subjectively (or, looked at another way, with a sample size of one), regularly stretching my calves significantly reduces how tense they are by default, which in turn reduces my pain. Reduced pain levels are most noticeable when I'm lying down and trying to sleep, but it really does appear to be consistently the case that when I'm stretching, I hurt less. Calf stretches (when combined with strength training) also have the fascinating-to-me effect that shoes with high heels stop being actively more comfortable than flats. I'd been working on the assumption that this is the reverse causality to implication of long-term high-heel use in shortening calf muscles (study), i.e., my leg muscles are generally tighter than average to compensate for connective tissue laxity associated with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
I also stretch my upper body, mostly to encourage me to release tension in my upper back. Again, my experience is very much that this does reduce pain (in addition to "just" feeling good), albeit indirectly.
Ingraham says:
Stretching just doesn’t have the effects that most people hope it does. Plentiful research has shown that it doesn’t warm you up, prevent soreness or injury, enhance pe[r]formance, or physically change muscles. Although it can boost flexibility, the value of this is unclear, and no other measurable and significant benefit to stretching has ever been proven. [...] If there’s any hope for stretching to be medically useful, it might be a therapeutic effect on muscle “knots” (myofascial trigger points), but even that theory is full of problems.
The argument as I understand it is that stretching prior to exercise doesn't alter the incidence of injury, doesn't "warm up", doesn't prevent Spatzen (DOMS, delayed-onset muscle soreness) and if anything is associated with a mild deterioration in athletic performance.
However, also cited is a Cochrane review finding that static stretching has no impact on muscle contractures.
The one consistent measurable effect Ingraham cites is increased flexibility, though this appears to be due to increased tolerance of the sensation of stretching, at least for short-term stretching sessions; as of 2010 (the same year as the famous small-scale study on the effects of high heels) the effects of long-term stretching programmes (>8 weeks) had not been evaluated; a 2018 review of 3- to 8-week stretching programmes found similar results. I'm not, however, turning up anything on longer-term stretching programmes as they pertain to EDS -- or, for that matter, anything suggesting that the result found for high heel use was erroneous.
Thoughts etc cheerfully solicited; I'm enjoying chewing over this and reassessing the place stretching has in my maintenance regime!
(no subject)
Date: 2019-02-13 08:36 pm (UTC)And for me personally, it gives me a bit more confidence in ignoring suggestions from randoms to stretch things that haven't helped me when I've tried them before.