WHY STRETCHING IS A WASTE OF TIME! 

Nice placebo effect

@@hanskazan7403 Doubt it

you missed the point, listen to 1:00 - 1:10

@@asura_wrx I disagree. Stretching has helped me stay supple and avoid injuries that I would've had otherwise. Each to their own.

​@@tommyharris5817Why shouldn't you stretch before exercise?

I needed this information. I injured my humstring two year ago. I still feel the tension.

+Bindu Patel that's a whole different story! In these cases patients often have spasms and severe contractions and need prolonged stretching

Send them the video 😝 static stretching can still be used for example to help alleviate pain in the short term and is easily applied by the patient themselves

@@Physiotutors so if I have tightness what should I do instead?

@@Mohammed-yd4uc tightness is a subjective feeling, it doesn't mean you have shortened muscles. This sensation could be due to a muscular contraction or raise in muscle tone in response to pain/inflammation. If you want to do something about that, you have to deal with main source of the problem, and that is by managing the working load and modalities, graded exposure to the more difficult activities and pacing the return to full activities. Stretching, manual therapy and physical therapies could give benefits on the short term, but won't adress the main source of the problem. That is a generic presentation, for a more detailed and individualized approach i suggest to reach out for the nearest physio in your area.

​@@Noler18 "reach out for the nearest physio in your area" where I live (France) the physios don't understand the concept of the evidence base. I believe that most of them have an anti-science mentality (which is part of the French culture, and other traditional/under-developed nations).

@@ytrew9717 then take advice from physio's outside of France maybe?

You're welcome Heidy. Can't say, but your muscles will certainly adapt to the demands. You might need some extra work if you have short muscles though.

Glad to hear Jeffin! No worries!

Hey Caitlyn, just have a look at the different resources we provided in the description. Not 100% sure on the literature, but to our knowledge contract-relax is slightly more effective than static stretching. This method makes sense from a physiological view point as the contraction in the lengthened position is telling your body that you need to produce force in a lengthened state, so we can imagine that sarcomerogenesis is triggered as well. Would be a nice research to compare those two! You're welcome!

Would be a interesting study

Sitting straight lengthens the hamstrings, that's normal. Being in a comfortable sitting position is not bad for your spine - noone can sit with a straight spine the whole day. The best posture for your spine is your next posture. Don't know your individual situation and why your hamstrings are short, but you could give it a try to work out eccentrically or see a local physiotherapist to guide you!

Focus in the Eccentric phase during leg extension and squats (for quads), hand practice longer eccentric phases in heel raise on a stair (for calves). Eccentric exercises are the ones in which you "control" the opposite movements of a muscle. Quads are hip flexors and knee extensors, so you use them in controlled hip extension and knee flexion

Super, dass es dir gefällt! :)

Hey Willie, there is no research to our knowledge yet. In the 6 studies that were included in the review from O'Sullivan et al. (2012) the duration range from 6-10 weeks, 2.5-7 sessions a week with 6-15 reps and 3-6s for the eccentric part of the movement. Intensity ranged from 80% of 5RM (eccentric) to 100% of the eccentric 1RM. So we can recommend you to at least do 3 sessions per week for at least 10 days (according to Timmins et al. 2015) within the hypertrophy rep range and with at least 3s of contraction during the eccentric movement.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22724435

PNF stretching is a contraction at end-range which might lead to sarcomereogenesis, so it might be different than usual stretching. Still, why not do eccentric training if your goal is actual lengthening, plus you are making people stronger and can prevent injuries. Stretching is not per se useless as a short-term intervention for pain, but it does not lengthen muscle tissue efficiently when compared to eccentric training.

You can still stretch and increase ROM if you like it. But the adaption is probably short-term and does not lengthen muscle tissue. To stretch a muscle you have to load THAT muscle eccentrically and at end-range.

It's not 1-2 studies, we just have to select a few. There is basically never black and white in research, but there is so much evidence out there that supports the hypothesis that stretching does not lengthen muscles, does not prevent injuries and that especially static stretching can have a negative impact on performance. There would have to be a lot and very strong research to reverse that - which won't come out as there is no new research technology or anything else that we see that would change these findings. Thanks for the compliment, happy you enjoy it!

Happy you like them!

@@Physiotutors good beat selection at the beginning of the video as well lol a lot of physical therapy channels have poor music selection

Vielen Dank Marcel! Spread the word!;)

+Ging Freecss a good option might be a sliding board or sliding pads

Hi Wouter, just did a quick search: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25359231 Maybe this helps...

Physiotutors Thanks a lot! I'll put your names in the credits haha

Definitely not bad and it can decrease pain on short term. If you like it keep doing it, just don't expect it to lengthen muscles or be a magic bullet

Thanks for the compliment and for subscribing Alvar!

Evidence shows that PNF is superior to other forms of stretching in terms of ROMs gained. In case of PNF, we can imagine that a physiological adaption in form of sarcomerogenesis takes place as you are contracting a muscle in an elongated state. Not sure if there is any research done that does biopsies after PNF stretching.

Most doctors don't know shit

Sounds good!

Same.

@@Ladynipchick2 With a couple more years in MSK and rehab now, I don't really use very many stretches now. I focus much more on strength training for many individuals. This video is like: "Well ofcourse" now. Whereas, when I first came across this concept it didn't make sense to me. "Strengthen to lengthen", stiffness caused by pain or weakness or nervous system protection, and short term stretching relief vs Long term strengthening benefits are all concepts I'm employing now.

Agree with your statements. There is surely nothing wrong to warm up your muscles by dynamic stretching in the end range of motions to prepare the joints and muscles for the upcoming demands. Stretching of any kind is just not very effective in lengthening muscle tissue compared to eccentric strengthening. PNF uses the same strategy like eccentric strengthening which is basically telling your muscles that strength is needed at end range of motion, which might lead to sarcomerogenesis. The way that static stretching increases range of motion is by increasing tolerance to stretch. That's an adaption of the nervous system with short-term effects. In any case the muscle length will decrease when eccentric training is stopped as well of course.

Stretching does not elongate muscles but increases our pain threshold to stretch in the CNS. These changes are probably only short-term. If you really want to elongate muscles, train them eccentrically.

It's always hard to evaluate your individual situation from afar, but it sounds like you are likely to benefit from an eccentric hamstring program. Scar tissue formation in the part of the hamstring that was injured can lead to shortening.

Physiotutors Thank you for quick response will give it ago. Any specific programme you recommend or will any do?

Careful Jefferson Curls can be an option.

thanks bro i will look into it.

Also just curious I have extreme debilitating lower back ache just above tail bone around the quadratus lumborus only when standing for a few hours, i can do back exercises and stretching all day and no pain at all and i never feel anything whatsoever unless i stand for a few hours at least so i think its a muscle weakness or tightness somewhere? does anything come to mind to you? never had back injury or anything. cheers

You could for example do eccentric training of the adductors. The goal of achieving a "straddle split" is something that is also out of the scope our video - as we mentioned, excessive stretching (7,5 min per day, high pain levels) is able to lengthen muscles. While this is not something that is realistic for a patient, it might still be an option for professional gymnasts.

@@Physiotutors High pain levels? Is that really the only option? I always presumed that stretching acutally favored those that were already quite flexible.

We're assuming that you are talking about a short muscle as tightness is rather a subjective feeling of discomfort. Think your idea comes from posture correction theories (p.e. strengthening the back will lead to a better posture). Don't think there is any research out there that looks into this question. From a biomechanical view, for example the triceps is in an elongated position during a biceps curl. Don't think that this is enough to really lengthen the triceps. At the same time we know that the agonist co-contracts during concentric action of the agonist. So in theory this would be an eccentric action of the antagonist (the triceps during a biceps curl). If this is enough to really lengthen the antagonist, not sure. Better way is to directly train the muscle that you want to lengthen eccentrically as this causes sarcomereogenesis.

Hello. Bruno. I have some doubts. You worked only eccentric strengthening for your flexibility.? Thank you.

@@vasanth581 hello, yes it was in first time. Now i combinate excentrique exercices in first part and active/strenght mobilty in second part. Som time i repeat this cycle of training in same day. I do low intensity but evry day. I feel more health and efficience than high intensity whith 2-3 rest days between the training. My progression for pike compression and shoulders extension overhead is nice with this training. Look how is classical dancers training and how there mobility. They don't use passive stretching. Just active and excentrique wiht low intensity (with there own body weight) but evry day, just with 20-30 min per day. But you need understand bio mechanics/anatomy and proper technics for doing this with good way. Watch "barre au sol" technics.

My question exactly. I have had bad posture due to too many pushing exercises, I realized my pec minor was very tight. I stretched it many times a day and now I got much better posture. I always did half reps on the incline bench and over time (1-2 years) It shortened my pec. I guess the point of the video is that its better to stretch the muscle by doing full RoM and the weights will do the stretching for you

He means that There is very minimal or no true tissue length change by stretching ..

We hardly ever have someone stretch as a treatment. If they enjoy it they can absolute continue doing so at home. Wouldn't recommend eccentric before concentric in general. Really depends on the situation.

It's a strategy that works by increasing the pain tolerance to stretch. However it has to be done a lot. It's more efficient to do eccentric strengthening as this has shown to actually lengthen the muscle fibers after 2 weeks of 3 sessions already!

Ok, thanks, do you have a video demonstrating such eccentric strengthening?

Did you watch the video? We're showing Romanian Deadlifts as an example of eccentric training.

Ah yes. Thank you again!

1)Yes, stretching is not a long-term solution and just temporarily helps against pain. Changing posture can certainly have an effect. 2) It's like in every rehab: You remove/reduce activities that provoke (in this case through posture change) and you build up the tissue capacity (and general capacity) through exercise. 3) Exercising the trapezius is a different kind of overload than that is receives through prolonged posture, so you don't overload them MORE.

Thanks for the great answer. Do you think it might make sense to do a little stretching in the beginning of their rehab program to help relieve some of the discomfort?

Definitely, it's an easy self-help interventions for patients to do at home regularly

Thanks a lot!

No, I don't. That's n=1 and there is no way to tell if stretching was the reason that a person with impingement improved unless you conduct an RCT. If we look at evidence from RCTs then stretching is not effective as a treatment for any musculoskeletal disorder nor is there data that it can prevent injury, actually quite some evidence to indicate the opposite.

Research does show that decreased hamstring length might be a risk factor for a couple of injuries. Therefore strengthening the hamstrings eccentrically is the best way to prevent injuries like in the Nordic hamstring curl.

Agreed! We don't know of any papers that show evidence that stretching does increase muscle length for other forms of stretching either. In our experience, dynamic stretching or in other words moving into end-ranges dynamically has a value in preparing an athlete for the upcoming event/challenges etc.

You can also achieve greater ROM with stretching. the effect is probably rather due to an adaption of the nervous system than actual change in the tissue. Probably the same for thoracic mobilization

Yes, at a certain point they will also do lifts such as the deadlifts. but that's not the point of the video. The argument is that if the goal is actual increase in ROM due to sarcomerogenesis, static stretching is not the best tool. There are numerous benefits of stretching such as an analgesic effect that we won't and don't discredit.

With tight we guess you mean "short"? Don't know the research behind what you say, but if this is the case, then a goal would be to lengthen you hamstrings and you should do so not by stretching, but by eccentric strengthening. Static, ballistic, dynamic - doesn't matter - they most probably aren't going to lengthen you muscles in any way.

load into the range you're looking to increase. We will probably make a video on this soon

Thank you, I’d love to see a video on this.

Perfectly fine to do that if it makes you feel good and helps you with post-ex tightness

Same!

Yes, irrespective of the muscle group.

Static stretching can lower performance. Dynamic or repeat dynamic movements towards end range is probably a good idea

Yea I new that (never do it the day of the race) but is it also bad to do it troughout the week?

No, if it feels good for you there is no reason not to stretch

Okey thankyou!!

Not 100% sure what you mean with neuromuscular challenges. Could you explain?

@@Physiotutors mobility in general. For example capsular tightness inhibiting mobility and coordination within exercises. FRC therapy opens up the joints through movement and mobility exercises that increase ROM by doing full ROM exercises, stretching/ opening up the joint. It's stretching the soft tissue indirectly by moving the joint and improving the neuromuscular feedback from that joint and surrounding muscles.

The concept to our knowledge is different from classical stretching. First question we always ask is "why do you want to achieve increased ROM"? If there is a movement you cannot do atm because your ROM doesn't permit so, then that's fine. In some cases being more mobility can actually have a negative effect. We can see some overlap with eccentric training as well --> asking your muscles to produce force at end range, just with an isometric hold instead of eccentric muscle action. Can imagine that the muscle actually adapts by sarcomerogenesis as well.

Thx, ja stretching is over-rated!

yes. it helped me

Would advise you to have a look into a physiology book for a deeper answer.

Why do you want to be able to do deep squats? You could try to mobilize your ankles (plenty of info on how to do that on the web), but it might just be your anatomy.

@@Physiotutors Since I saw your video I've discovered a lot of things about the subject thank to you guys. Currently I'm reading Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz. I'll try to do some PNF stretching and see what comes. I want to do deep squats for better strength gains and to prevent injuries (my current parallel squats make my knees suffer - and look that I'm doing only bodyweight squats). When I do deep squats (assisted by a chair), I can do a lot more and with no pain, but I think that I'm cheating to be honest. Now I'm doing bodyweight exercises, using them to learn the proper form and build a base strength so later I can move more easily to weight training.

@@pauloalves1847 Ask me how to improve your squats, I have been working on mine for over a year now. Static stretching, lots of it will improve your squats. You need to find an object to hold onto, then lower to your end-range squat. Push forward and try to pull your knees further above your toes and hold it. Every time you do this stretch, it will become slightly easier. I cured ankle impingement and overpronated flat feet by doing this.

@@skilldoesskill9412 I think what you did is the same I'm doing right now (I've seen it first here: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZFCDMXtKAhA.html ). I will try to pull my knees forward as you said. How long did you take to perform a full deep squat without any kind of support? Should I keep my back straight or it doesn't matter? Also, have you seen the ATG split squat (from the kneesovertoesguy)? Do you think it'll be helpful as well?

@@pauloalves1847 I noticed that when doing it, my back and hips got better on their own, so I wouldn't worry about straightening your back, your back will slouch until you've achieved good enough dorsiflexion not to compensate. Also, widening your hips or your knees is a compensation for lack of dorsiflexion. I find a surface that is a bit higher than my knees, then I put my elbows on my knees, and push on that surface to lower my knees forward from my toes. I also keep my feet straight, and push my knees outwards a bit (This cured overpronation). ATG split squat will definitely help because it increases strength in range of motion, but doing this static stretch to increase your dorsiflexion while in squat should be enough on its own. I set a 20 minute timer, whenever this position gets too painful on my calves I switch over to something called the seiza kneel which puts me in max plantar flexion. I hold it for one minute while the timer is still going, and then I return to the squat dorsiflexion stretch. Seiza kneeling is good for opening up joint space for you to use when you dorsiflex. Once you master both movements, your legs will feel so free.

Yes and no. It seems that extreme stretching - like mentioned in the video - can increase muscle length, which might be part of what helps gymnasts to be so flexible.

Short term adaption of the nervous system. If you really like it and it feels good for you feel free to use it. But there is no evidence that it actually lengthens tissues let alone lengthen fascia!

There is seems to be a correlation between reduced hip range of motion and back pain, so he might have a good reason for having you stretch. Why not ask him about his idea behind stretching?

@@Physiotutors he said that I'll never be able to bend forward from the hips while keeping my back extended if my hamstrings aren't flexible. Any they make me stretch in all sorts of positions. Lying down, sitting, standing etc.

Hard to comment on your physio's ideas from afar. Why not get a second opinion from another local physio?

+Sarah Goddard you're welcome! Greetings from Amsterdam

Just look at the evidence regarding static stretching before performance: negative effect on performance and NO effect on injury prevention.

@@Physiotutors Oh, I have. Research makes us change our view all the time. Both frustrating and exciting at the same time :-) For this exact reason, it seems like you should update yourself on the topic. Here are some good articles for you: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6895680/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29063454/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26642915/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23681447/ The understanding of a stretch-induced force impairment seems to be built on studies lacking ecological validity (either prolonged/unrealistic stretching-duration or stretching as a standalone warm-up). If the total volume of static stretching is below 60 seconds on a single muscle (when do we ever stretch more in a warm-up?) or placed within a comprehensive warm-up (which it always/mostly is?) there are NO negative effects on muscle performance. Yes, there are no findings of static stretching showing a decrease in all-injury risk (but finding such a relationship would also be difficult since all injuries have different causes and mechanisms..) However, when looking at specific injuries like muscle-tendon strain injuries, stretching has been found to decrease the injury-risk pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18785063/. Generally, increased flexibility has been shown to decrease muscle-tendon strain injury-risk shown in this recent systematic review pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29239989/ . Would you perform eccentric training to acutely increase ROM before a football match? I would most certainly include dynamic AND STATIC stretching (short intervention, early in a comprehensive warm-up - of course). Additionally, a decrease in ankle dorsiflexion have been found in soccer players during a competitive season pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31072261/. Would you prescribe extensive eccentric training of the triceps surae complex DURING the season to increase flexibility/extensibility? I would recommend static stretching in this scenario. Always. I get that stretching should not be considered the only type of intervention to increase flexibility. Eccentric training is wonderful and effective for many things, and more people should definitely use more time on this type of training. But the way you are presenting (neglecting) the evidence and promoting eccentric training as the new (all in one) exercise and stretching as you "bad friend" is very wrong, and you are misleading people. As stated before, chronic (long-term) static stretch programs could be beneficial to maintain/improve ROM in a competitive season for athletes (like football players), when resistance/eccentric training might be down-prioritized due to the possibility of a lack of recovery/muscle fatigue. Eccentric training will be favored in one scenario, and stretching could be favored in another. Keep up your good work! But I hope you will consider updating your channel with a new video on static stretching, after updating your knowledge. Btw, you should look into how long-term static stretching might decrease hysteresis in the tendons, while resistance training (botch concentric/eccentric) doesn't (plyometric training might!). A decrease in hysteresis could be considered beneficial for athletes wishing to optimize their stretch-shortening cycle and passive elastic energy return in the tendons, with less energy lost as heat in the unloading phase during repetitive work. Interesting stuff. Here are some articles on that topic: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30342379/ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290007/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12028136/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20576842/ Best Regards, Daniel Pauk

Hey Pucca T, thanks for your input! There is no single research article up until today that shows that stretching is able to reduce injuries. Actually there are quite a few who show that stretching actually increases injury risk! Our focus is on lengthening a muscle and for this goal, stretching is very inefficient. Using it as a treatment is a different story and it has shown to be beneficial in several pathologies. Yet even in these cases, a different approach is often more effective for example: strengthening vs. streching for plantar fasciitis...we will publish two videos for both approaches soon.

I'm a massage therapist too and former personal trainer and on a side note, I think a distinction should be made between passive and active stretching. Stretching is great as tight muscles can cause pain but it's not particularly important before exercise as a stretched muscle cannot contract with maximal force.

Pucca T correct me if I’m wrong but I think the main purpose of stretch is to decrease tension in the muscle. Overtime it will increase flexibility but reduce muscular tonicity and too much flexibility can lead to injury. In case of eccentric contractions I believe the goal is to elongate the muscle by keeping the same tension within the muscle. In that case the muscle will be longer, stronger, less likely to be injured but less flexible and in the case of stretching the patient will have a longer muscle, more flexibile, less stronger ( because of less muscular tension) thus more likely to get injured. That how I understand it.

I agree, same with me.