Diet and Exercise Myth #22: You’ll get injured unless you stretch before exercise

When done correctly, stretching is good for you in many ways, and many people enjoy it.

There is, however, no scientific evidence that a pre-stretched muscle is any less prone to injury.

The key to understanding this myth is to realise the important difference between static and dynamic stretching.

Static stretching is what you probably think of when you think of stretching. The objective of static stretching is to literally lengthen a muscle, and it takes a whole lot more than a single quick ‘footy stretch’ to accomplish.

Dynamic stretching is the kind that can actually help prevent injury, but it’s less about literally stretching a muscle and more about warming up your muscles and joints prior to heavy load bearing or intense activity.

Dynamic stretching involves gradually working up your joint or muscle to its full range of motion - including supporting structures like tendons, ligaments and cartilage - while increasing internal temperature and blood flow through the area.

So, while stretching doesn’t prevent injury, mobilisation and warming up certainly can.