A recent study examined the effects of stretching in subjects over three months to determine if pre-workout stretching prevents injury. According to Letha “Etty” Griffin, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, “researchers found that there was no big difference in the amount of overuse injuries, sprains, strains and stress fractures between the group that stretched regularly for five to 10 minutes before exercise and the group that did not.”

While this might contradict everything you have been told, Dr. Griffin has some important advice. “They didn’t say, ‘don’t warm up,’ they said, ‘don’t stretch.’ So the caveat is, warm up and do what you feel comfortable with,” she says. However, researchers found that injury rates went up in the people who typically stretched before a workout but stopped doing so during the study. The study also looked at people who were more prone to injuries.

They concluded that older people, who ran more miles and who were overweight were more likely to suffer an overuse injury. “This is yet another reason to stay healthy and fit, exercise regularly, and maybe don’t stretch all that much,” Dr. Griffin says.

The bottom line is this: if you are already stretching, don’t stop because you are really liable to be injured. Also, injuries are more common in overweight people, who increase their mileage and who are older, so those are the people who should consider stretching before a workout.

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