Flexibility can be good, but who says stretching is the best way to get there?

The section below is a growing list of links; studies, posts, scientific papers, and articles, that question some long-held beliefs about stretching, massage, and methods of tension-reduction in the active individual.

Stretching

• Effects of stretching before and after exercising on muscle soreness and risk of injury: systematic review
• Reduced strength after passive stretch of the human plantarflexors
• Neural and mechanical responses of the triceps surae muscle group after 1 h of repeated fast passive stretches
• Altered reflex sensitivity after repeated and prolonged passive muscle stretching
• Stretching research clearly shows that a stretching habit isn’t good for warmup, injury prevention, preventing or treating muscle soreness, enhancing athletic performance … or even flexibility!
• Stretching: The Truth
• USATF Announces Results of Pre-run Stretch Study

Massage

• Massage Actually Impairs Blood Flow To The Muscle After Exercise
• Rethinking “muscle knots”

Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) & Foam Rolling

• The Foam Roller Isn’t Doing What You Think
• Rethinking “muscle knots”