A recent study reported by George Washington University is challenging that wisdom. They divided runners into two groups. One stretched before running and the other didn’t.
The researchers found that injury rate was the same for both groups, about 16%.
However, they did find that runners who were regular stretchers before being put into the non-stretch group had a 40% higher chance of injury.
For the non-stretchers who were part of the stretching group, their risk of an injury went up 22%.
What this means to me is if you are a stretcher, keep stretching and if you’re a non-stretcher, don’t.