Home Treatment for Repetitive Stress Injury

The old wisdom of stretching says: Hold a stretch 20-30 seconds, to relax your muscles and be able to work out harder afterward. But these static stretches aren’t really effective and may actually weaken muscles, according to a new study from the University of Nevada:

The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them.

The study found that the most effective stretches are active stretches that engage the muscles, and keep them moving. The goals of this “dynamic” method of stretching are to warm up the muscles–that is, increase blood flow to the area, which helps strengthen them and get them ready for exercise.

Interesting findings — Read the full article: “Stretching: The Truth“

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