Over the course of my professional career as a sports physiotherapist, it came to my mind what the physiological difference of static and dynamic stretching is. And most especially its significance to the football players that i am handling.
I have observed my players develop muscle strains throughout their professional careers and as a physical therapist i do understand the mechanism of these injuries but it has battled my mind to come up with a solution. So before i answer which is the better way to stretch let us first dissect what static and dynamic stretching is.
Static stretching basically is the pulling a muscle to its physiological end and held for 15-30 seconds, some scholarly articles even say that 6 to 8 seconds would do. by doing so, you are able to stretch various muscles individually and with focus for the purpose of flexibility prior to an activity. Dynamic stretching on the other hand is the sport specific movement of various sport specific muscles in different directions of increasing range of motion to achieve flexibility.
Since both the static and dynamic stretching are addressing flexibility prior to an activity, which one is more beneficial? On my professional perspective it is logical to use dynamic stretching prior to activity and do static stretching after the activity. I chose dynamic over the static for the following purposes. first, for all sports, it is essential for all muscle groups to warm up prior to the sporting activity to prevent muscle strains and tightness, and as we all know pulled muscles are the result of poorly stretched or over stretched muscles. Dynamic stretching safely eliminates over stretching and thus pulled injuries. Second dynamic stretching incorporates movements which warms the muscles & promotes blood flow. since the muscles get warmed and blood flow is present the muscles are ever ready for the upcoming activity. Third, since static stretching is done at "static" rest, it is best to be done at the end of the activity to promote the cooling down effect on the muscles used. These are just some of the important points that gave me the reason to incorporate dynamic stretching prior to the sporting activity and the static stretch after the activity.
In conclusion, it is still the coaches decision to choose the best stretch for their athletes. but taking in to consideration the points that i have mentioned above, it is dynamic stretching that specifically resembles the preparation prior to the sporting activity and thus prepares the athletes in a specific manner.
MVY, PTRP, RPT
I have observed my players develop muscle strains throughout their professional careers and as a physical therapist i do understand the mechanism of these injuries but it has battled my mind to come up with a solution. So before i answer which is the better way to stretch let us first dissect what static and dynamic stretching is.
Static stretching basically is the pulling a muscle to its physiological end and held for 15-30 seconds, some scholarly articles even say that 6 to 8 seconds would do. by doing so, you are able to stretch various muscles individually and with focus for the purpose of flexibility prior to an activity. Dynamic stretching on the other hand is the sport specific movement of various sport specific muscles in different directions of increasing range of motion to achieve flexibility.
Since both the static and dynamic stretching are addressing flexibility prior to an activity, which one is more beneficial? On my professional perspective it is logical to use dynamic stretching prior to activity and do static stretching after the activity. I chose dynamic over the static for the following purposes. first, for all sports, it is essential for all muscle groups to warm up prior to the sporting activity to prevent muscle strains and tightness, and as we all know pulled muscles are the result of poorly stretched or over stretched muscles. Dynamic stretching safely eliminates over stretching and thus pulled injuries. Second dynamic stretching incorporates movements which warms the muscles & promotes blood flow. since the muscles get warmed and blood flow is present the muscles are ever ready for the upcoming activity. Third, since static stretching is done at "static" rest, it is best to be done at the end of the activity to promote the cooling down effect on the muscles used. These are just some of the important points that gave me the reason to incorporate dynamic stretching prior to the sporting activity and the static stretch after the activity.
In conclusion, it is still the coaches decision to choose the best stretch for their athletes. but taking in to consideration the points that i have mentioned above, it is dynamic stretching that specifically resembles the preparation prior to the sporting activity and thus prepares the athletes in a specific manner.
MVY, PTRP, RPT