Conventional wisdom and old wives tales compels us to continue that which is the usual and customary behavior. One such behavior is to stretch before exercising to reduce the risk of injury. However in the 21st century we are growing organs, correcting vision with lasers and creating drinking water from the air. First the following list of facts:

1. Stretching temporarily weakens your muscles by reducing the blood flow.

2. Reducing the blood flow decreases the activity of you central nervous system.

3. Decreased activity of the CNS inhibits your brain’s ability to communicate with your muscles.

4. Inhibiting brain communication to the muscles limits the muscle’s capacity to generate force. (REDUCES STRENGTH)

To date there is no substantial scientific evidence that supports stretching significantly reduces the occurrence of injury. There is evidence that stretching after strenuous activity does improve flexibility and fatigue recovery. The new school of human performance enhancement recommends a 5 to 10 minute warm up that very closely resembles dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching exercise maintains your muscle fibers length and allows you to preserve your power and endurance when swinging your club.

Here are few illustrations of dynamic warm-ups:

Golf injuries and stretching

I recommend 10 to 15 minutes of static stretching immediately following the completion of your game. This increases flexibility of the muscles, realigns the muscle fibers and assists in pushing lactic acid out of the muscle belly (Lactic acid- builds up after exercise and causes muscle soreness). Thank you for stopping by, please stay hydrated and have a great golfing season. If you have any further questions about enhancing your golf performance please feel free to contact my office and schedule a free consultation.

Dr. Arnie Wynn

Chiropractor
Spine Doctors Chiropractic
(703) 879 2337