Stop Stretching! By Dr. Stephen Gangemi, a.k.a., The Sock Doc

[Bare Lee]

Thank you again for your response. If possible, I'd appreciate two further clarifications.

You said that "light stretches moving your body through normal ranges of motion is fine." Are you here referring to the kind of daily stretches we all do naturally, just like cats, dogs, and babies--kind of like a corporeal yawn?

Also, when I stretch out my leg up on a wall (at shoulder or head level), I'm pretty sure I'm contracting my quads, and my foot is pulled back toward me. Can I assume that since I have been able to do this without any pain for twenty plus years (indeed, it is sometimes almost painful not to do it), that I am safe in continuing to do it? In the NYTimes article, Dr. McHugh stated that people who are able to become (very) flexible through stretching are probably genetically predisposed to stretchiness, and that seems to be true in my case.

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

Yes on the "corporeal yawn" - and a great way to put it!

Re your second question and if you're safe to continue to do that, it's tough to comment on that. One could say yes because you've done it so long and "gotten away with it" and one could also say no because it is causing a problem that you may not even know about. I'm not trying to dodge your question, hopefully you know from the tons of free advice I offer I am probably the last to do that. But we never do something just because it has "worked for me this long." It truly might be okay but I will always say if you have to stretch, then there's a problem. And since you say it is sometimes painful not to do it, I'd say that sounds like a problem to me. Ever use a foam roller on the hamstrings or The Stick? See how that feels running up and down the entire back of your leg. I think that is much more effective & therapeutic than stretching.

 

[Bare Lee]

Thanks again for your thoughtful comments.

So I guess if stretching within a normal range of motion is OK--our 'corporeal yawns'--then it's only the hamstring stretching I do that I may have to reconsider. And just to clarify: when I wrote it was 'almost painful' not to stretch out my hamstrings, I meant they tend to tighten up again if I don't stretch them (this was more of a problem when I was practicing karate every day for four to five hours). Perhaps it's trying to return to a more natural length. I don't practice karate anymore, so there's really no reason to be able to do high kicks (even if I were required to defend myself [unlikely in St. Paul], I'd just kick out a weight-bearing knee and run), except it still feels awesome to be able to put my foot up that high. In any case, you've given me a lot to think about, and I appreciate the suggestion to use a foam roller--I'll give that a try.

 

[Bare Lee]

Thanks for the response. I continue to find this all a bit counterintuitive, and I usually enjoy counterintuitive points of view. For example, I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk reading and writing. I feel like I need to get up and stretch once in a while, put my hands flat on the floor with my legs nice and straight. That makes my back and hamstrings feel a lot better. Would you say it's not healthy to sit for long periods of time, and therefore my need to stretch is indicative of this? That would make sense, but right now I don't see any alternative (I have been eyeing those ergontron workfit devices, but can't afford one right now). I also do very mild stretching before a run, but love putting my leg up on a high wall and stretching it out after a run. It feels great. It would be hard for me to give that up, but your article has helped open me up to the possibility that it may not be the right thing to do. As with all new research findings, I'll probably take this with a grain of salt until I've investigated it more, or until I hear of more research pointing the way. No disrespect to you, but at this point it's hard not to listen to what my body has been telling me for so many years. Thanks again for the article and for your time in responding to comments.

 

[skicoach]

Very interesting article! Paradigm shifting in the way it associates inflexibility with imbalances.

I've always had an intuitive dislike of stretching but could never explain it. I coach skiing and guide in the Alps all winter for a living and have done so for the past 25 years - without ever feeling the desire to stretch. At age 53 I also compete in road cycling and do a lot of running and other stuff. The only stiffness I have comes from where bones have been broken or joints dislocated and tendons moved by surgeons.

Interestingly, the only area I feel like stretching is my lower back - usually backwards over a Swiss Ball to stretch out the psoas and all along the inside of the spine. I've had surgery in that area twice in the distant past so I'd kind of accepted that as a limitation. Recently - thanks to working on barefoot running technique and using ChiRunning and ChiWalking as principal references, the realisation grew that my running and walking were completely imbalanced and the postural muscles were not working correctly. No sooner was that sorted out than I realised that I was making exactly the same error when cycling. The hip tends to move forwards as the leg extends when cycling - but ChiRunning points out that the hip is supposed to move backwards as the leg extends. Applying this principle to cycling - which was tricky to begin with - I discovered that it loosened up my back - as does the ChiRunning - with the separation of upper and lower body being centered quite high around the T12/L1 vertabrae. The coordination feels correct too once it is learned - it aligns many aspects of the body and is very powerful. The end result is that with better balanced mechanics I'm not having to stretch the back out any more - which corresponds precisely with the claims in this article. Getting to this point was never going to be obvious though - it takes a great deal of awareness and the right information. It's easy to see why people simply get stuck with "cause and effect" - you are stiff so you need to stretch!

The movement pattern in ChiRunning is something I've always applied naturally to downhill skiing - without realising it. This clearly contributed to my success at a professional and racing level and expalins why I never need to stretch after skiing - always noticing that skiing actually helped me to feel better not stiffer or more painful - even after surgery to the back. I'd learned that movement pattern as a child from ice skating and roller skating for many years. It's unfortunte that the skills from one learned activity do not necessarily transfer to another. If I'd been walking and running in a correctly balanced manner all my life a lot of pain could have been avoided - and I guess it's the same for most people. It's great that some people are taking the time to write informative and insightful articles like this one here by The Sock Doc because there are so few like this around!

 

[Dr. Gangemi_SockDoc]

Thanks a lot for those comments!