Muscle flexibility is important for your body. But according to sports medicine experts at Mayo Clinic, the old way of stretching before you exercise isn’t the right approach.
Reporter Jason Howland explains in this Mayo Clinic Minute.
“Having flexible muscles and mobile joints can help reduce your overall injury risk. But it can also help improve your performance,” says Dr. Chad Asplund, a Mayo Clinic sports medicine physician.
Stretching those muscles is a good way to increase flexibility, but there’s a common mistake many people make.
“The old stretching before you work out has actually been shown to increase the rate of injuries,” says Dr. Asplund. “And paradoxically, regular stretching done when the muscles are warm, such as after you work out, over the long term will make your muscles more flexible and lower your injury risk.”
Rather than stretching before you exercise, do a dynamic warmup instead, such as running in place, jumping jacks or leg lifts.
“Things where you’re engaging the muscles, but you’re moving them. And you’re getting them warm gradually as you progress into your workout,” says Dr. Asplund
And then after the workout, perform stretches, which lengthen the muscles by placing them under tension.
“If you think about having a rubber band, if you have a really short rubber band and you yank it really hard, it’s much more likely to tear than if that rubber band is a little bit longer,” says Dr. Asplund.
“Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.”
Republished with permission[/vc_message]
Disclaimer
Artificial Intelligence Disclosure & Legal Disclaimer
AI Content Policy.
To provide our readers with timely and comprehensive coverage, South Florida Reporter uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in producing certain articles and visual content.
Articles: AI may be used to assist in research, structural drafting, or data analysis. All AI-assisted text is reviewed and edited by our team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our editorial standards.
Images: Any imagery generated or significantly altered by AI is clearly marked with a disclaimer or watermark to distinguish it from traditional photography or editorial illustrations.
General Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service. In no event shall South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service.
The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice. The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components.
