Seeking Stretching advice

Quoted message said:

Any reccomendations on properly stretching the lower leg muscles etc

Ask a softball NG you idiot, we do running stretches AFTER running, designed
for RUNNERS. Get it?

Bret Cohen said:

Hi all

I am not a runner.. but I have recently started playing softball again.

Any reccomendations on properly stretching the lower leg muscles etc

Thanks

Bret

I have the book Stretching by Bob Anderson. I was shamed into buying it
by an acquaintance I see at work now and then. He kept pestering me to
get it because my back hurt from sports, and when I didn't, he brought
me his own copy and forced it on me.

It's got tons of stretches in it, maybe too many. I can never decide
what few I want to do. But it also has groups of stretches organized by
sports, including a group of 16 stretches for baseball. If you can't
find what you want online, you might look it over in a bookstore. To be
honest, I'm glad I saw your question, because it reminds me to look over
the recommended stretches for running.

Thanks!!

-J

Some in here:
http://www.apta.org/brochures/Hip.pdf

"Bret Cohen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all

I am not a runner.. but I have recently started playing softball again.

Any reccomendations on properly stretching the lower leg muscles etc

Thanks

Bret

Quads and hamstrings are the ones that seem to get pulled most often
in softball. I'd concentrate on those if I were you.

"Bob Schroedter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Some in here:
http://www.apta.org/brochures/Hip.pdf

"Bret Cohen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all

I am not a runner.. but I have recently started playing softball again.

Any reccomendations on properly stretching the lower leg muscles etc

Thanks

Bret

Why would you need to stretch for softball? Chess, or pub darts I can
see, but softball?

If the objective of stretching is injury prevention, it is a waste of time. If
the objective is to improve flexability as needed in an athletic event, there
may be some value.

http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=bjsports&
resid=34/5/324

Lyndon
"Speed Kills...It kills those that don't have it!" --US Olympic Track Coach
Brooks Johnson

The article reads: "If injuries usually occur within the normal range of
motion, why would an increased range of motion prevent injuries?"

Myofascial and myofibrous structures, just like other components of the
musculoskeletal system, are most susceptible to injury at the end ranges of
motion. "Normal range of motion" is completely relative and statistical in
the spirit of the language. A person may have become injured within this
statistically "normal" range but may have a smaller range available in the
first place and thus be closer at time of injury to their respective end
range of motion. Someone with a greater range of motion will have more
"play" available at either end of the "normal" range, and therefore, be less
susceptible to injury. The study cited in the article did not look at the
range point at time of injury relative to the person's overall range of
motion.

The article also states: "basic science research shows that an increase in
compliance is associated with a greater ability to absorb energy"

The key point is not simply energy absorption but also energy distribution.
Finite element analysis and composite mechanics research of man-made
structures supports this idea. Soft tissue structures of the body are
essentially complex composite materials that follow the laws of physics,
thermodynamics and applied mechanics principles. Stiffer, less compliant,
materials concentrate loads at their interface with more compliant
materials. Stiffer materials are concentrators, not distributors of energy.
More compliant materials are able to distribute and disperse loads more
evenly and obviate an injurious concentration of forces at any singular
point, therefore again, making the structure less susceptible to damage.

To the hyperlinked article's credit, the author did well to highlight that
studies on stretching and the bubsequent evaluation of their outcomes have,
to this point, had their research design drawbacks.

From a practical standpoint, progressive, gradual stretching after warm-up
is appropriate to elicit compliance of soft tissue structures.

BOB

"Lyndon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If the objective of stretching is injury prevention, it is a waste of

time. If

Quoted message said:

the objective is to improve flexability as needed in an athletic event,

there

Quoted message said:

may be some value.

http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=bjsports&
resid=34/5/324

Lyndon
"Speed Kills...It kills those that don't have it!" --US Olympic Track

Coach

Quoted message said:

Brooks Johnson

Errata

Should have read...The article also states: " NO basic science research
shows that an increase in compliance is associated with a greater ability to
absorb energy"

"Bob Schroedter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The article reads: "If injuries usually occur within the normal range of
motion, why would an increased range of motion prevent injuries?"

Myofascial and myofibrous structures, just like other components of the
musculoskeletal system, are most susceptible to injury at the end ranges

of

Quoted message said:

motion. "Normal range of motion" is completely relative and statistical in
the spirit of the language. A person may have become injured within this
statistically "normal" range but may have a smaller range available in the
first place and thus be closer at time of injury to their respective end
range of motion. Someone with a greater range of motion will have more
"play" available at either end of the "normal" range, and therefore, be

less

Quoted message said:

susceptible to injury. The study cited in the article did not look at the
range point at time of injury relative to the person's overall range of
motion.

The article also states: "basic science research shows that an increase in
compliance is associated with a greater ability to absorb energy"

The key point is not simply energy absorption but also energy

distribution.

Quoted message said:

Finite element analysis and composite mechanics research of man-made
structures supports this idea. Soft tissue structures of the body are
essentially complex composite materials that follow the laws of physics,
thermodynamics and applied mechanics principles. Stiffer, less compliant,
materials concentrate loads at their interface with more compliant
materials. Stiffer materials are concentrators, not distributors of

energy.

Quoted message said:

More compliant materials are able to distribute and disperse loads more
evenly and obviate an injurious concentration of forces at any singular
point, therefore again, making the structure less susceptible to damage.

To the hyperlinked article's credit, the author did well to highlight that
studies on stretching and the bubsequent evaluation of their outcomes

have,

Quoted message said:

to this point, had their research design drawbacks.

From a practical standpoint, progressive, gradual stretching after warm-up
is appropriate to elicit compliance of soft tissue structures.

BOB

"Lyndon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If the objective of stretching is injury prevention, it is a waste of

time. If

Quoted message said:

the objective is to improve flexability as needed in an athletic event,

there

Quoted message said:

may be some value.

http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/ijlink?linkType=FULL&journalCode=bjsports&

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

resid=34/5/324

Lyndon
"Speed Kills...It kills those that don't have it!" --US Olympic Track

Coach

Quoted message said:

Brooks Johnson