Muscle Strengthening Exercises: Not Always the Pain Reliever You Think?

While stretching might not significantly reduce muscle soreness after exercise, experts agree it’s still vital for injury prevention, improved range of motion, and overall muscle health.

So, you’ve probably heard that stretching before a workout can cause muscle soreness. But according to a new study, stretching before or after exercise has little effect on muscle soreness. But it is not unimportant!

Study Details

In an analysis of 10 trials, it was found that muscle stretching reduced soreness only slightly in the general population by less than one point on a scale from 1-100.

Each trial involved between 10 and 30 participants who were asked to rate muscle soreness for various stretches ranging from 40 seconds to 10 minutes.

The effect of stretching was very small and did not significantly affect the difference between stretching before exercise or after.

According to lead researcher Robert Herbert of the University of Sydney: “The information is pretty reassuring, stretching before or after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness for healthy young people.”

However, researchers stress that the main reason for stretching is not pain relief, but to avoid possible injuries. In addition to this, stretching can help people who have limited movement.

John Brewer, an academic director of the Lucozade Sports Science Academy, stresses the importance of stretching before exercise: “Stretching reduces muscle stiffness, improves their range and makes them more prepared to bear the loads placed on them during intense physical activity.” According to him, it’s not always obvious that muscle stretching after exercise will affect positively, but this stiffness can help relieve muscle tension by increasing blood flow to the tissues and removing waste products produced after exercise.

What is the treatment for muscle pain and bone pain?

Adam Abioye, director of Core Clinic, believes that one of the benefits of stretching is before exercise: “During physical activity, aerobic, anaerobic, and naturally strong stretching, the muscles shorten and swell. In many cases, we think that everything we do is bigger, but we forget the most important thing – even if we accelerate the number of times in the world. This means that without intense stretching, progress will not be possible. And importantly, before any type of intense muscle stretching for the whole body, even if we were three small parts of the body, and what is similar. Muscle stretching will prevent swelling and allows more freedom of movement.”

Contrary to John Brewer’s opinion, Abioye says that one of the benefits of stretching is after exercise: “At the end of exercise, it is necessary to stretch the muscles for the whole body, to contribute to the supply of new oxygen, so that different muscles can interact with each other from the shocks of exercise and thus contribute more effectively.”

However, he does not stop there and adds another type of stretching that has not been examined in the research: “It is important to stretch the muscles during exercise so that muscles work for a short period of time and to expand the range of their movement.”

Colin, director of the musculoskeletal system at Go-Active, supports stretching and talks about the differences that exist for athletes: “Most athletes in various sports complain that at the end of a strength training session where the body is tight, a series of intense stretches impairs muscle building.”

The study did not establish specific differences in usual activities and in fact, it supports a common topic in muscle soreness, especially in everything related to avoiding injuries, mood, facilitating recovery, etc. The importance of stretching is confirmed in all the above-mentioned issues. In addition, it was not established in any form that it impairs muscle building during intense exercise “.