Many people treat exercise as a necessary part of their day, to protect, maintain and improve their health, but not a fun part, unless you're meeting a guy- or girl-pal at the gym or, like me, catching up on podcasts, TV shows or breaking news with your trusty media player. That's why we're always looking for "hacks," efficient ways to shorten the time you spend on stuff like exercise but not miss out on the benefits it provides.
I've never been a fan of spending much time stretching before working out, and do it very rarely at best. A study presented at the most recent meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons may offer one more reason for you and me not to worry about it so much.
More than 2,700 patients/runners who ran at least 10 miles every week were split almost evenly into two groups: The stretchers who took 3-5 minutes to flex their various muscle groups immediately before running versus those who didn't.
Over a three-month period, stretching prior to a run didn't affect a patient's odds of being hurt. But one thing that made a big difference: A patient's odds of getting hurt after changing their stretching/non-stretching routine either way. Stretching runners who stopped doing it were 40 percent more likely to sustain an injury, while those who became stretchers after skipping it increased their odds of injury by 22 percent.
Some health experts urge folks, especially older ones, not to give up on stretching entirely. Aging reduces your body's flexibility, however, so some form of stretching may be necessary.
By the way, taking a pass on stretching doesn't mean skipping out on exercise either…
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons February 17, 2011
USA Today February 19, 2011