Similar to how being active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, stretching is essential to safe and effective exercise. From warming up and down to preventing aches and injury, different types of stretching have different types of benefits. However, do you know which is which?
What’s the difference?
Dynamic stretching involves a series of movements that work more than one muscle at a time, such as moving your arm and shoulder in large circles. This type of stretching uses controlled body movements, gently taking your range of motion to localised limits. Dynamic stretching should be smooth, so bounces and jerks are not involved.
Static stretching increases the length of the soft tissue and the flexibility of the muscles. It involves reaching as far as you can in one direction and then holding the position for 15-60 seconds. Examples are touching your toes, or leaning to one side with the opposite arm arched over your head.
Preventing injuries
The best way to prevent injury is to keep your muscles and soft tissue in top condition. This can be achieved by combining dynamic stretching and static stretching.
Dynamic stretching increases your core body and muscle temperature, elongates your muscles and stimulates your nervous system, therefore is highly effective at preparing your body for exercise, sports and weightlifting.
Static stretching helps to relax muscles, realign muscle fibres, cool your body temperature and increase flexibility, so is ideal as part of an effective cool down routine following your game or training.
Treating injuries
Static stretching is also highly recommended for injured muscles, as it gently increases flexibility and relieves pain caused by muscle stiffness. However, aggressively stretching an injured muscle will only make things worse, so it is important to wait at least 72 hours before starting static stretching exercises. Dynamic stretching may not help an injured muscle and could even cause further discomfort and damage.
Remember the rule
When you’re about to be dynamic, such as exercise, weightlifting and sports, use dynamic stretching to get you ready for a session.
When being static is required, such as resting after exercise or when injured, use static exercises to maximise flexibility and help the muscles to rest.
