Passive Stretching Bad?

[CLGUY]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So, forgive me if I'm behind the times, but I've recently heard that passive stretching isn't all its cracked up to be. Apparently some think its detrimental to active contraction. "They" say all a muscle needs it to be adequately warmed up and ready for activity, but not stretched.
This goes against everything I've learned from participating in high school sports through my AT program, which stressed passive stretching and PNF stretching. I realize both get results by neurological relaxation (autogenic inhibition/ reciprocal inhibition) and no true "lenghtening" occurs. Does that actually hurt active contraction though?
Obviously I don't know the specifics behind this train of thought aka why is it (passive stretching) bad. Anyone have more info?

 

[thorn22]

I am not at home right now, however, I have a few articles that have shown passive stretching causes a decrease in Peak Power. It was recommended (as you also mentioned) that athletes, in particular, use an active warm-up in comparison to a passive stretching routine.

When I get back from Spring Break I can review the literature a bit more and comment further.

As an aside, we had a debate in my Muscle Biology course on whether stretching was "good" or "bad". I will comment on this as well when I get time. The discussion was rather interesting.

 

[MinnDasota]

I don't have the research on me at the moment, but I tend to use an active warm-up with dynamic stretching vs. passive in my athletes and "active" patients. With the older, less mobile population, I tend to use passive stretching after a warm up. That said, it really depends on the pathology, if injured. PNF stretching helps quite a bit with relaxing "overactive" muscles.

thorn22, I'm interested in the articles. Please post when you get back!

 

[CLGUY]

Thanks to both of you, look forward to reading the article if you can send it to me! Hope you have a great Spring Break!

 

[Coach Hoski]

CLGUY, I am studying for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certificate through the NSCA, and I'm also considering UM-Flint for PT school this fall. I'm taking a class taught by an MSU strength coach to help prepare for the CSCS exam, and according to him and the text, this is the modern consensus:
Active stretching is not "bad", though preceding physical activity with passive stretching HAS been shown to lower maximal strength production. It is still one of the most effective ways to increase active ROM in a joint, but many health/fitness professionals are now incorporating passive stretching and PNF after each session rather than before. Dynamic stretching and traditional warmups are being used in place of passive stretching antecedent to exercise in order to specifically engage the relevant energy system (APT/PC, Fast/Slow Glycolysis, or ETC), get local blood flow, and allow time for the connective tissue and local musculature to become more pliable (decreasing likelihood of injury).
The discrepancy between your AT studies and the new science is in that we now know that passive stretching prior to exercise will not decrease the likelihood of injury, and it is likely to decrease maximal force production. It is therefore logical to aim to increase joint ROM after exercising and warm up beforehand as I mentioned above.

 

[Coach Hoski]

To tack onto my prior response, the NSCA's text does not speculate exactly why static stretching has been shown to decrease muscular strength, contraction speed, and power, but it does cite several studies that indicate those outcomes. I can PM you the sources if you want.

 

[CLGUY]

Coach,
Thanks for the info! I would appreciate if you could PM me the source. And good luck with UM-Flint, I truly hope I'll be able to meet you in the Fall!

 

[Cyres]

Diminished muscle force capacity and neuromuscular feedback. Details here: http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/89/3/1179

 

[thorn22]

Hey everyone.

The article I was talking about is:

"The Effects of Stretching on Strength Performance" by Rubini et al

This is the only place I could find the entire article for free (I have it in hard copy):​

http://www.pereirasrunners.com.br/pdfs/efeito_alongamento_performance.pdf


Take a peek at the data they listed on Table 1. If you look half way down under the "Behm et al" reference, you will see that Static passive stretching of the Quadriceps for 15 minutes caused a 12.2% decrease in Maximum Voluntary Contraction. This was just one tidbit I thought was pretty astounding.

I would love to hear what your thoughts are after reading. Enjoy the article!