10 Studies That Conclude Stretching Is a Complete Waste of Time (And Why That’s Bad)

Once upon a time, there was an old Western belief that all swans were white.

So you can imagine everyone’s surprise when a black swan was discovered in 17th Century Australia…

From that point, ‘a black swan’ became a byword for something that had always been considered impossible but that then actually happened or was shown to exist.

In 2007, a man called Nassim Taleb wrote a book on the subject (The Black Swan).

The book examines examples from history where society has, when confronted with a statistical variation, attempted to reverse engineer an explanation.

When people read, for example, that Cristiano Ronaldo does 3,000 sit ups every day while watching TV, some fall into the trap of thinking that’s the secret to his toned abs.

Ronaldo himself might even believe it.

Stretching The Truth

That’s why it’s so easy to find so much contradictory advice when it comes to health and fitness.

The way around this trap is to remember that the answers are most likely to be found in what works (or doesn’t) for the majority of people.

And then you need these findings to have come from randomised, double-blind (very difficult with physical training) and independently-funded studies.

Otherwise, people will always look for answers that confirm their existing belief. It’s called confirmation bias.

So someone, for example, who once had a bad time at a yoga class might find these studies comforting:

10 Studies That Conclude Stretching Is

A Waste Of Time

1. Effects of Stretching Before and After Exercising on Muscle Soreness and Risk of Injury: A Systematic Review

“Stretching before or after exercising does not confer protection from muscle soreness”

2. The Impact of Stretching on Sports Injury Risk: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“Stretching was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries and similar findings were seen in the subgroup analyses.”

3. Does Pre-Exercise Static Stretching Inhibit Maximal Muscular Performance? A Meta-Analytical Review

“We conclude that the usage of SS as the sole activity during warm-up routine should generally be avoided.”

4. The Effect of Passive Stretching on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, and Other Detrimental Effects Following Eccentric Exercise

“It is concluded that passive stretching did not have any significant influence on increased plasma-CK, muscle pain, muscle strength and the PCr/P(i) ratio, indicating that passive stretching after eccentric exercise cannot prevent secondary pathological alterations.”

5. Acute Effect of Passive Static Stretching on Lower-Body Strength in Moderately Trained Men

“The findings of this study suggest that intensive stretching such as lower-body PSS should be avoided before training the lower body or performing the 1RM in the squat exercise in favor of an AD dynamic warm-up using resistance training equipment in the lower-body musculature.”

6. Static Stretching Can Impair Explosive Performance for At Least 24 Hours

“Therefore, the SS of the lower limbs and hip muscles had a negative effect on explosive performances up to 24 hours post-stretching with no major effects on the RSA (repeated sprint ability).”

7. A Randomized Trial of Pre-exercise Stretching for Prevention of Lower-Limb Injury.

“A typical muscle stretching protocol performed during pre-exercise warm-ups does not produce clinically meaningful reductions in risk of exercise-related injury in army recruits.”

8. The Role Of Stretching In Tendon Injuries

“Flexibility index decreased significantly after stretching training.”

9. Stretching to Prevent or Reduce Muscle Soreness after Exercise

“The evidence from randomised studies suggests that muscle stretching, whether conducted before, after, or before and after exercise, does not produce clinically important reductions in delayed-onset muscle soreness in healthy adults.”

10. A Large, Randomized, Prospective Study of the Impact of a Pre-Run Stretch on the Risk of Injury in Teenage and Older Runners

“Over a three-month period there was no statistically significant difference in injury risk between the pre-run stretching and non-stretching groups.”

So, there you go…

Ten studies that conclude stretching is a waste of time.

As it’s my belief (and personal experience) that stretching does no good, I’ve sourced ten scientific studies that conveniently conclude the same thing.

Similarly, someone who has great natural flexibility and enjoys stretching might go in search of ten scientific studies that conclude differently.

They might even be able to find them (I tried, but couldn’t).

The only real truth about stretching may well be that, as Paul Ingraham has written:

The truth about stretching is that there is no truth about stretching to be had: it’s just too complicated a subject. There are too many mysteries and variables in muscle and connective tissue physiology, too many different stretching methods, and too many and vague goals for it to ever be possible to categorically say that stretching does or does not “work.”

Ingraham goes on to conclude, at the end of his 12,000 word stretching investigation:

There is no known benefit to greater flexibility, except for: bragging rights

dominating Twister tournaments

making full use of Indian love manuals In short, stretching appears to be good for … more stretching. Oh, and of course: yes, stretching does feel pleasant

That, then, would appear to be that.

Or…

There might be a more attainable (and actionable) answer…

John Little is a Canadian who’s authored no less than 12 books on exercise and another 38 books on philosophy (Eastern and Western), history and martial arts.

Little has spent a large part of his life studying the human body.

His conclusion? Stretching is “a complete waste of time” [source: here, towards the end of the interview].

He has this to say: (from Body by Science):

“Since stretching does not contract muscles, and since contraction is what draws blood into a muscle and generates metabolic activity to provide a “warm-up”, there is no warming up imparted by stretching.”

From this, a bold hypothesis emerges… the most effective way to warm up or warm down muscles could be with a series of purposeful contractions.

Pretty much the opposite of stretching, then.

Hmph.

Over To You!

Leave a comment below with an example of a topic in the health and fitness space where you’ve experienced people ignoring the facts and focusing instead on their feelings…