Previous Story
The Truth About Stretching for Firefighters – Part 1 of 4
Posted On 23 Jan 2016
There seems to be a lot of confusion around stretching. In this article series I’m going to first clear up some myths about stretching and then show you some of the stretches that are most important for firefighters to do (and some to avoid).
Should Firefighters Stretch At All?
One of the biggest myths out there is that you should stretch before athletic competition or, in the case of firefighters, before doing something physically demanding. People believe that this will reduce injury risk, reduce soreness and improve performance. Unfortunately, research shows that none of this is true.
Stretching Before Athletic Performance Has Shown to Hinder Performance
Stretching before exercise does not reduce soreness. In fact, there aren’t any scientifically proven ways to reduce soreness. Furthermore, stretching before athletic performance has actually been shown to hinder performance. The best time to stretch is after you exercise because your muscles need to be warm to stretch well.
The best way to reduce injury risk during physically demanding tasks is to be sure that your joints are capable of moving through a large range of motion – in other words, that you have adequate flexibility. And this is accomplished through regular stretching.
Firefighters Should Stretch, but Timing Is Important
There’s no need to be excessively flexible, in fact, data shows that actually increases injury risk in firefighters.
So, yes you should stretch, but timing is important. Stretch when your body temperature is up, either via exercise or passive heating like a shower. Stretch for the purpose of gaining adequate flexibility (so you can avoid injury) which means you’ll need to do it regularly – at least 3 days per week and ideally every day.
In the next articles in this series I’ll be showing you some of the best stretches for firefighters to do.
Photo Courtesy Karlie Moore
Dr. Moore,
Thank you for your article. I agree that it is impractical (and frankly, not possible) for firefighters to stretch before firefighting operations. Overall, a regular flexibility training regimen (with static, dynamic and active stretching) will provide the most benefit to improving muscular strength/power, balance, and correcting muscular imbalances (NASM).
Could you speak to the following statement from the National Academy of Sports Medicine, regarding different types of stretching before physical activity?
“Dynamic stretching [lunges, prisoner/air squats, tube walking, medicine ball lift and chop] is also suggested as a warm-up before athletic activity, as long as no postural distortion patterns are present. If an individual does posses muscle imbalances, self-myofascial release and static stretching [reach and hold] should precede dynamic stretching for overactive or tight muscles identified during the assessment process.”
Their stance is that if muscles are too tight (or muscle imbalances are present), improper form and movement compensations may occur during physical activity. These eventually lead to injuries—which will obviously impede athletic performance in the long run.
Also, why do we regularly see athletes (i.e. baseball, hockey, football players, etc.) using various types of stretching as part of their warm-ups before their games?
Thanks,
Jim
Hi Jim, thanks for your question. It’s always good to be sure you’re following science based recommendations like those from the NASM or ACSM.
I don’t think the NASM is trying to state here that stretching before exercise is better than stretching after, which is the main point of my article. They do point out, as my article does, that a warm-up is important for reducing injury risk. The exercises that they list as “dynamic stretching” [lunges, prisoner/air squats, tube walking, medicine ball lift and chop], are typical warm-up exercises.
Static stretching is still considered the safest way to stretch. So scientists agree that someone should be doing static stretching before they attempt a lot of dynamic stretching.
I’m sure athletes stretch before athletic competition because a) that’s what they are use to (people don’t like change), b) they don’t have an opportunity to stretch after their event, c) they participate in a sport where their performance is not hindered by stretching (that research was mostly on sprinters), or d) they are unaware of said research.
Thanks,
Karlie