Stretching for Runners
Take Time to Stretch Muscles to Avoid Injuires and Keep on Running
Feb 10, 2009
It always seems that runners are short on time to get in their workouts and they often cut their stretching routine to give themselves more time to run. But spending a few minutes stretching, might just do more to keep them running for the long-term than anything else. A good stretch of the key running muscles helps get them warm, keeps them flexible, and increases their range of motion.
What’s a Muscle and Why do I Need to Stretch it?
As the word implies, stretching the muscles means pulling on them to make them longer and more pliable. Muscles are similar to rubber bands that are flexible and stretchy, making their way around joints to help move a particular part of the body. The muscles themselves are made up of fibers that run lengthwise up and down the muscle. Imagine thousands of strands lying next to each other, creating a strong fabric that can pull when the muscle contracts.
Muscles work in opposition to one another, meaning that the muscles in the front of the leg, for example, contract when the muscles in the back of the leg are relaxing. This is important, because a lack of flexibility in one side of the muscle pair often causes problems on the other side. Stretching helps out with this, by increasing flexibility and helping thins move more fluidly.
After a tough workout in which the muscles are being repeatedly contracted and relaxed the muscles are lose and relaxed and may not come back into shape. Like a rubber-band that has been stretched a lot, the muscle fibers can get take on a wavy, curviness, rather than lying straight down next to each other. Stretching can also help with this, by aligning the muscles back into the straight lines that they are supposed to be lying in.
How Should Runners Stretch?
To start with, Runners should get warmed up by either walking briskly or slowly jogging for at least five minutes. This will help get the muscles warm, increase blood flow, and start to loosen them up.
After this warm-up, runners should go through a routine that stretches the key running muscle groups, including the lower-legs, feet, ankles, upper legs and hips. Stretching these key areas will help avoid two of the most common running injuries called shin splints and IT Band Syndrome, which are often caused by inflexible muscles in the calf and hips respectively.
In going through a stretching routine, runners should make sure to do the following:
- Hold stretches tightly, applying pressure to the muscle, but never causing pain. If the stretch is causing pain, too much pressure is being applied.
- Stretch with consistent pressure, but don’t bounce. Bouncing can cause muscles to tear under the pressure.
- Hold a stretch for at least 15-20 seconds and then increase the stretch and hold for another 10-20 seconds. The first few seconds of the stretch will start to elongate the muscle and allow the muscle to be stretched a bit further in the last 10-20 seconds.
- Stretch under their own pressure, rather than having another runner apply pressure by pushing on the leg being stretched. While it is common to see runners helping one another stretch, it can be dangerous and potentially damaging.
- Stretch lightly after very long runs. The muscles can be very lose and pliable after a run of 15 or more miles and it is easy to over-stretch or rip a muscle when they are in this state.
Taking the time to stretch helps runners avoid injuries that are caused by inflexibility or stiffness in muscles. It may mean adding an additional ten or fifteen minutes to a run, but the dividends can be great over the long-term.
To watch a video of a stretching routine for runners, click here.
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