A Cautionary Tale
I remember early in my career I heard a cautionary tale about Deion Sanders.
During the 1989 NFL combine he ran a blistering 4.2sec 40-yard dash. He was then drafted as the 5th overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons.
When the strength coach for the Falcons found that Deion couldn't touch his toes, he made it a focus to stretch his hamstrings.
The result?
His 40-yard dash time slowed to 4.35sec.
Stretching is Bad?
Stretching can be effective if done with a very specific intention for a specific person. It needs to be individualized and done with the bigger picture in mind.
But more times than not; mindless, passive, static stretching can do more harm than good.
This is because the tensegrity of the body is quite complex and quite powerful.
Taking tension out of one place of the body can be like pulling the wrong Jenga block.
Or you could think of it like rubber bands. A bunch of overstretched rubber bands aren't ideal for optimizing our posture and movement.
We need this elastic tension of our muscles/fascia/tendons to make movement efficient.
Research
Research often back this clinical finding as well.
In a 2002 study by Jones, he found that running economy was NEGATIVELY associated with the sit-and-reach test.
“These results suggest that the least flexible runners are also the most economical. It is possible that stiffer musculotendinous structures reduce the aerobic demand of submaximal running by facilitating a greater elastic energy return during the shortening phase of the stretch-shortening cycle.”
Furthermore, research shows that strengthening is often the solution.
“Strength training allows the muscles to utilise more elastic energy and reduce the amount of energy wasted in braking forces.”
What to Do
So what do you do for that uncomfortable perceived tightness and stiffness.
Specific Dynamic mobility
Self myofascial release (foam rolling, massage gun)
Massage/Manual Therapy
Dry Needling
Eccentric loading
Proximal stability
Integrated balance
Give us a call if you need any help finding strategies to improve running economy and safely reduce uncomfortable stiffness.