Can you injure yourself stretching

This could make you less likely to injure yourself. Even just 15 minutes of stretching pre-workout has been proven to help with injury prevention. This is the perfect time to do some dynamic stretches more on that in a bit —think moving stretches that mimic the workout to come. Aaptiv members take stretching classes after their workouts or to loosen up. Check them out in the app. Really rigid. Jumping literally into pre-workout stretches without a proper warm-up can set you up for more pain than gain.

Before you get into your mini stretch sesh, always include a warm-up. Eight to 12 minutes of jumping rope, jumping jacks, and walking lunges is just one effective warm-up you can do before stretching.

Sometimes the muscle in question is just weak. In that case, forcing a stretch can cause major strain and potentially lead to injury. Strength training with a range of motion , surprisingly enough, is the solution. Although it may not seem obvious, there are a few different ways to stretch. Doing the wrong type of stretch at the wrong time can result in injury either during your stretch or workout.

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Department of Health and Human Services. Morey MC. Physical activity and exercise in older adults. Avloniti A, et al. The acute effects of static stretching on speed and agility performance depend on stretch duration and conditioning level. Madden CC, et al. In: Netter's Sports Medicine. Elsevier; Micheo W, et al. Basic principles regarding strength, flexibility and stability exercises.

Page P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. Physical activity adult. Mayo Clinic; Bushman B, ed.

Increasing your flexibility. Human Kinetics; See also How fit are you? Love to golf? Shape up your swing Office stretches Guide to stretches Golf stretches What is hot yoga? Bouncing at the end of your stretch when done vigorously enough can cause the muscle and tendon to tear, says Luga Podesta, MD, sports medicine physician and rehabilitation specialist at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. Instead, Dr. Podesta recommends gradually elongating and holding the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds, then release and repeat several times.

Use a free hand to feel the muscle you are stretching. At that point, the likelihood of you benefiting from the stretch versus the likelihood of you pulling or tearing a muscle tips. Indeed, in a small study published in , researchers tested and compared the benefits and risks of static stretching to the point of pain in 22 physically active women.

One group stretched to the point of true pain, whereas another group went only to the point of discomfort. Pushing yourself to the point of pain, the study found, had no advantages.

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