You should probably be stretching

[jurke]

Came across this study in this months MASS research review and was curious if the BBM team had any opinions on the findings: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30161088/

via MASS:
The reviewed study confirms that chronic stretching enhances range of motion and may provide a modest strength benefit.

[Leah Lutz]

Hi! This was a brief discussion over in our FB last week, and here's a reply from Derek Miles-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BarbellMedicineGroup/permalink/2868781300033117

Derek Miles
Moderator
Full disclosure that I have not read the write-up in MASS so I am not going to pretend to know Greg’s position on this. I still would not give much credence to this study in terms of a “need” to stretch. They tested for upwards of 7 variables with an underpowered cohort for that. Not necessarily bad, but certainly will change any interpretation of results when range of motion and RFD were the positive results. I also have not seen knee ROM measured in this fashion and would assume the overall number is influenced by some displacement of the thigh into that pad as normal flexion motion is given in the 135-140 range. That being said, I don’t think it comes as any surprise that if you work into a position for a while, you gain some range in that position. There was not any difference in squat jump, counter movement jump, rebound jump, or MVIC. Overall, this study would likely get a resounding “meh.” If you are going to track that many outcomes you need a much larger cohort or to set much more stringent conditions for significance. Also, and this is not a knock against the study but merely a statement, the cohort was on relatively untrained men, not exactly a representative sample of the normal BBM follower.