Flexibility for athletes
Flexibility training is often an afterthought for many young athletes but in this article, I will be giving a basic overview of what flexibility is, what the research says and what may be an optimal method to improve flexibility for certain athletes.
Flexibility is the total range of motion of a given joint including the capsule and muscle tissue. Muscles and tendons are ‘viscoelastic’ in that they demonstrate qualities that are both elastic (spring back) and viscous in nature (resists forces in a linear fashion).
Key factors contributing to flexibility are the joint capsule, ligaments, muscle, tendon, neural structures (nerves and surrounding connective tissue), fascia and how all of these interact with one another.
What the research says…
There are many studies on flexibility training with contradicting evidence probably due to the inconsistencies with programme design, the participants they used and the length of time the subjects were tested.
Some evidence shows that too much stretching can hinder performance and increase risk of injury. Other longer-term study reviews found that stretching regularly over a longer period of time did have positive benefits in key performance measures (isometric force and velocity of contraction). Studies have shown moderate improvements in power and agility performance following dynamic warm up when compared to static or no warm-up protocols.
The reality is that everyone is different and different athletes require different amounts of flexibility in various joints based on their sport and individual factors e.g. overhead athletes (think baseball, tennis, javelin etc.) have adapted with more ROM at the shoulder joint than none throwing athletes to accommodate the specific sporting movement.
Static stretching can have a negative effect on immediate performance but regular, long term stretching can help improve performance if required. Static stretching at the end of a day, after competition or on a rest/recovery day may be the optimal times to use these methods
Types of stretching
Passive stretching is low-load, prolonged static holds which changes the viscoelastic properties of the muscle and adjoining tendons.
Utilising ‘total body’, movement stretches has the advantage of working multiple joints in multiple planes of motion instead of stretching individual muscles in isolation. This has the added benefit of involving the connective tissue or fascia that is intertwined in our body.
Dynamic or active stretching often involves various movements that prepare the athlete for upcoming activities and actively stretches key joints.
An important part to implementing a successful flexibility training plan for an athlete is knowing what their sport will demand of key joints – e.g. going back to the overhead athlete, it is probably quite important to have the ability to fully extend their arms overhead otherwise there may be a compensatory movement that could result in injury. You also have to take into consideration previous injuries that may have affected joint range of motion.
Too much stretching beyond a ‘normal’ range of motion can make a joint unstable and unable to support a normal load.
Joint stiffness can also inhibit normal motion and transfer excessive force to structures that are unable to cope, resulting in injury. Hypermobility is very common and can cause problems if unstable, but it IS possible for a joint to be hypermobile AND stable.
I personally have a similar view to Mike Boyle’s approach where he utilises static stretching in the warm-up as a key method to reduce injury risk over the longer term and this is then followed up with a dynamic warm-up which prepares the athlete for the immediate session ahead
Here are some of our favourite dynamic stretches that we use regularly before training (we are looking for full body control throughout the range of motion)…
Adductor rock backs – show and go
Sue Falsone. (2014). Optimising flexibility. In: Joyce, D. and Lewindon, D. High-Performance Training for Sports. Champaign: Human Kinetics. Chapter 5.