Stretching: there is still some debate about how much to do, when to do it, and whether it really helps. In reality, some form of stretching is beneficial, but not in the ways we normally think about it.

Most of us have been told to stretch to “warm-up” the muscles prior to activity in order to lessen the risk of injury. Static stretching, contorting our bodies into mildly painful positions and holding those positions for 30 seconds or more, has been widely used as the mechanism of choice historically to accomplish this. However, the latest research suggests that stretching prior to physical activity or athletic endeavors does not reduce the risk of injury, and in fact, may increase the risk of injury and decrease performance. So to stretch or not to stretch - that is the question.

The answer: Stretch. But the reasons for doing so are different than most of us have been taught. Flexibility is one of the components of fitness, one that is often overlooked in favor of cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength and endurance, which are also components of overall fitness. Stretching is designed to enhance flexibility, not to reduce the risk of injury. Anyone who is over the age of 20 knows they are not as flexible as they used to be; we actually lose flexibility as we age if we do not engage in some form of flexibility training. Stretching routines can be viewed as a type of physical activity and need to be incorporated into an overall health and fitness routine. To enhance flexibility, static stretching is recommended either following physical activity or at another time all together as a separate form of activity itself.

So what should you do prior to physical activity or athletic endeavors to reduce the risk of injury? Warm-up. There are two kinds of warm-ups which are designed to get blood flowing to the muscles and have been shown to decrease the risk of injury during activity:

1) General Warm-Up: Designed to warm up the entire body. Examples include walking or running on the treadmill prior to strength training or walking for a few minutes prior to jogging.

2) Specific Warm-Up: Designed to warm up the specific muscles about to be used during the activity. Many of these are dynamic exercises such as lunges, knee raises, or lunges with upper body twists -- and some are sport specific as well. For the average individual, these dynamic warm-ups can become the “work-out” itself!

It’s important to note that general and specific warm-ups have not been shown to increase flexibility. Only stretching has been shown to accomplish this. Warm-ups have been shown however to decrease the risk of injury during physical activity or athletic endeavors.

So the latest verdict is yes -- you should stretch at least two times per week for flexibility in addition to some form of endurance and resistance training activity for overall fitness.