JONATHAN YOUNG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff “¢bull; UCLA alumnus
Chris Corch demonstrates a calf stretch that
stretches the achilles tendon and is important for running long
distances. “¢bull; Balance on one of your heels and place the ball
of your other foot against a wall if one is available. “¢bull; Push
forward against the wall.
By Ben Peters
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]
Jason Gaultstein was having the game of his life. His jumper was
hotter than Adam Sandler’s fiancée. His confidence
soared as he imagined himself as a Jewish Jordan. Nobody could stop
him “¦ nobody but himself.
Suddenly, he felt a jolt of tightness in his hamstring. He
grabbed his leg and limped to the bench as the game of his life
came to a tragic end. Not stretching claims another victim.
Most athletes view stretching as the act of quickly touching
their toes and grabbing their leg back for a count of 10 that more
often than not is closer to one second than ten; others discard
going through the motions entirely. However, coaches and doctors
cannot overemphasize the importance of stretching for your current
and future health.
Like taking vitamins, everyone knows stretching benefits their
bodies, but few know why or how. And this ignorance, along with the
many myths, combines to be very dangerous. It results in false
security and the occasional severe injury.
“Stretching is a stimulus to muscles and tendons to
promote lengthening,” said Dr. Karlis Ullis of the Arthur
Ashe Sports Medicine Clinic.
“It gives a stimulus to grow in the right way so the
muscles don’t grow tight and rip. Muscle tears occur where
the muscle joins the tendon because that is where there is the
least blood supply and stretching may increase the blood
supply.”
The count of 10 that most people learned from grade school PE
may work for the looser bodies of children, but as Ullis describes,
college students’ joints, muscles, and tendons are not as
loose as they once were because the natural aging process tightens
and shortens body parts. For the 20-year old, a 10-second stretch
does nothing.
JONATHAN YOUNG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff “¢bull; Glute stretches
are important to do before running. “¢bull; Sit on the ground with
both legs in front of you. “¢bull; Grab one of your ankles, and
pull it to your opposite hip. “¢bull; Remember not to overdo your
stretch.
UCLA cross-country head coach Eric Peterson has his runners
stretch each muscle for an absolute minimum of 30 seconds and
advises as the most effective method, “to stretch the muscle
to a point of discomfort but not pain.”
But, of course, the average UCLA student does not necessarily
desire to train at the level of a world-class athlete. Most look at
exercise as a fun side activity. Many college students spend most
of the day sitting around.
When asked about the most frequent injuries he deals with, Ullis
notes, “acute hamstring tears that occur in students who sit
all week then go all out on the weekend or in IMs.”
Sitting around all day leaves the muscles tight and inflexible,
and in Ullis’s words, “leaves you out of touch with
your body.”
Yet, that does not mean that stretching before exercise can
prevent injury from inactivity. Running Online writer Woody Green
stresses that “stretching cold muscles does more harm than
good.”
Green likens your muscles to taffy: “Warm taffy stretches
as far as you can pull it, but when cold, it can break into pieces
in your hands.”
Both Green and Ullis advocate a light warmup period to literally
warm up the body and hence make the muscles more pliable to
stretch. In addition to before the exercise, Peterson believes that
the best time for flexibility is after the workout, to lessen the
effect of the eventual tightening as the muscles again become
inactive.
JONATHAN YOUNG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff “¢bull; Quad and
hamstring stretches are important for sports that require
sprinting. “¢bull; Rest heel on a flat surface. “¢bull; Lift
opposite leg and place heel on an object that is about waist high.
“¢bull; Lean forward and grab ankle.
Regarding performance, Peterson isn’t sure if there is a
direct correlation to performance, but he describes his reason for
stretching as, “to show people how to run with a greater
range of motion.
“Distance running is a repetitive motion and you need to
maintain a high level of flex to keep joints healthy, otherwise you
build up a lot of tension and muscle soreness.”
For Gaultstein and others whose running consists of more short
sprints, the key area of concern is indeed the hamstrings. Joggers
and those running long distances need to concentrate on their
calves. In addition, other key areas to stretch are the back, the
quadriceps, the gluteus, and the iliotibial band (the outsides of
the legs).
However, something to keep in mind is that stretching is
person-specific. “You almost need a prescription for each
body type,” says Ullis.
While this article stresses stretching because of the lack of
care most college students take with their bodies, those who stay
active and keep their bodies loose do not need to stretch and may
even be hurt by it, as joints too loose are susceptible to injury
as well.
Knowing how your body responds to activity and your level of
flexibility will give an accurate indication of the necessary
stretches and time.
So hopefully, naïve Jason Gaultstein is out there somewhere
learning from his crippling ways. Unfortunately, it comes too late
for him. He has realized how important stretching is the painful
way.