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Lead Stories: Friday, August 29, 2008

Q & A: Is stretching helpful or harmful for exercisers?

Posted November 30th, 2007 at 2:12 PM by Andrew Goodman

Section: Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

Stretching the leg muscles improves muscle flexibility and strength, running speed, and jumping distance, according to a study from Louisiana State University (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, October 2007).

Stretching elongates muscles and tendons. Longer tendons allow muscles to exert a greater torque on the joint to exert more power to help you lift heavier, jump higher and run faster.

However, other studies show that you should not stretch before a competition involving speed and strength (Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, April 2006). The longer the athletes stretched, the weaker they became. Prolonged stretching fatigues muscle fibers so that they contract with reduced force.
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Preventing Muscle Soreness

Posted November 28th, 2007 at 7:22 PM by Shannon Clark

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

Anytime you place an overloading stimulus on the muscle tissue (such as when you lift heavy weights), you are going to create tiny little tears in the muscle that basically are breaking down the fibres. When given rest, the muscles will rebuild themselves, growing back stronger so they can be more resilient in the future.

Along with this muscle tearing process, one thing that is often experienced by individuals is a tendency to feel some muscular soreness about a day or so after heavy lifting or strong cardio workouts. While you do not need to feel muscular soreness in order for it to have been a good workout, the two are often experienced together.

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What can I do about pain in my back or buttocks?

Posted December 21st, 2006 at 6:00 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab

If it hurts to touch a point that’s in the middle of one side of your buttocks, you probably have piriformis syndrome.

This chronic condition is very difficult to diagnose, because other injuries may produce exactly the same symptoms. Similar pain may be the result of an injury to bones, muscles, tendons, bursae (pads between the tendons and bones), the hip joint, or the sciatic nerve, but there are ways to determine from which condition you might be suffering.
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