By Steve Brooks Technology and Assessment

Beneficial even if your not an athlete!  Improves Circulation  Lowers risk for cardiovascular disease  Stress Relief!  Improves coordination  Reduce muscle soreness/injuries  Increases the production of synovial fluid!synovial fluid!

 Lubricates joints  Transports nutrients to joints  Helps protect against the wear on cartilage!

 Injury prevention!  Improved performance Improving flexibility is good for every kind of athlete as long as it is done correctly!

STATIC STRETCHINGDYNAMIC STRETCHING  Traditional  The new

 Hold stretch for at least 30 second  Before and after performance  Best way to improve overall flexibility What you may not know:  Decreases strength!  Decreases speed!

Quadriceps Hamstrings Groin

 Movement stretching – no holding!  Warms the body up more  More effective before exercise  Does not decrease performance  Most effective for injury prevention  Sport Specific stretches!

Leg Swings Lunges

Increased flexibility decreases strength. Increased strength decreases flexibility. It’s a Balancing act! This does NOT mean anyone should or shouldn’t stretch!

BENEFITSDISADVANTAGES  Increases range of motion  Decreases chance of injury  Decreases reaction time which:  Decreases strength  Decreases speed Pulls apart muscle and tendon fibers Why? Longer the muscle fibers the longer it takes for an impulse to travel from point A to point B

 Weight lifters – more dynamic stretching  Long distance runners – more static stretching  Sprinters – more dynamic stretching  Gymnasts – more static stretching

 It is best to do: Dynamic stretching before Static stretching after

Dynamic stretching Doesn’t stretch muscle fibers as far apart Still warms the body up and prevents injury Dynamic stretches can be sport specific! Static stretching Pulls the fibers apart more which causing strength and speed loss Improves flexibility and long term injury prevention. Static stretches are more universal !

Injuries due to lack of flexibility are inevitable! Oww! I should have stretched more!

 Injuries due to lack of flexibility can occur for everyone not just athletes!  Can cause poor posture  Problems walking  Lower back pain!  Knee problems

Which can cause leg length discrepancy

 Runner’s knee  Not just for runners  Pulls the patella out of place causing pain and stiffness

 Tears  ACL, LCL, meniscus, etc  Tennis elbow  Muscle can tear bone apart! Tore my ACL! Should have stretched…even for golf

Save yourself the trouble of an injury; its worth the few extra minutes! Questions?