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Lead Stories: Monday, October 6, 2008

Active and Dynamic Stretching: An injury prevention tandem

Posted January 16th, 2007 at 4:24 PM by Richard Quinn

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

Stretching before and after running (and any physical activity) is an important aspect of preventing injuries. Stretching can also help with muscle recovery, optimizing muscle gains and increasing flexibility. There are two general types of stretching that can lead to these benefits: active and dynamic.

Active stretching (as seen above), also known as static stretching, entails stretching a muscle to an elongated position and holding that stretch for a certain amount of time. This is the most common type of stretching that most of us have been taught from a young age. Although there is some debate about the effective of active stretching, Sports Fitness Advisor states:

“This debate relates to an acute bout of static stretching prior to exercise. It is still considered important and beneficial to athletes away from competition to to bring about a long-term increase in range of motion.”

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Stretch to increase performance and prevent injury

Posted November 28th, 2006 at 4:00 PM by Jenna Sumara

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab

We’re all a little bit guilty of it. Sometimes we say we are too busy; we just forget; or some of us don’t think it’s all that important. I’m talking about stretching.

Although it may be more exciting to just go out and run and once most runners begin their workout they don’t want to stop; the importance of a good stretching program is worth the wait. Having a solid stretching habit can help prevent pain, injuries and keep you moving when you might otherwise have had to take extra time off to recover. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tall vs. Short Runners

Posted September 29th, 2006 at 4:00 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training

Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to TFS. Make sure to also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.

[Some people believe] that taller runners inherently have a longer stride length. And, as a result, if two runners have the same stride rate, the taller one should be faster because of this naturally longer stride length. Neither premise is true. The determination of stride length simply is not that simple.

Although leg length, which is largely determined by height, is a factor that does affect stride length, it is a relatively minor one. Stride length is primarily determined by rear leg drive and range of motion. The former (drive) is completely independent of leg length (height) and the latter (range) is only very slightly influenced by leg length….do the geometrical math.

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