Stretching Does not Prevent Muscle Soreness?

An artcle from the British Medical Journal reports that stretching before or after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness. This was a review of five studies of "moderate quality" and suggests that stretching does not reduce soreness from exercise, nor does it prevent injury - based on a study of army recruits.

My experience with army recruits suggests that the training is so hard nothing could prevent injury - but that's another story!

This article does not address the issue of stretching improving sport performance though and other research does suggest that there is a positive relationship between the two.

To see the abstract of this article:

Stretching before or after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness or reduce risk of injury: systematic review BMJ Volume 325 pp 468-70, 451-2

Here are a couple of other resources on stretching:

The Myths and Truths of Streching. A review from the Physician and Sports Medicine

Stretching and Flexibility: Everything you never wanted to know - Website

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