---
title: "To stretch or not to stretch? That is the question"
published: 2016-03-28
updated: 2026-08-04
category: "Consejos para empezar"
source: "https://dev-abp.massivoai.com/en/articles/estirar-o-no-estirar-ese-es-el-dilema"
---

# To stretch or not to stretch? That is the question

**Ask 100 trainers whether stretching before running is necessary and you'll get 100 different answers. Stretching is one of the most controversial topics in sports, and although many swear by it, recent studies suggest otherwise.**

Maybe you're one of those people who doesn't dare take a single step without stretching first. Perhaps you don't know what you're stretching or why, but you do it simply because your PE teacher forced you to in school and you got stuck with the habit, or because you see everyone else doing it.

Although there's no absolute truth on the matter, two recent findings make us think about the "benefits" of stretching:

**       1. Stretching before running does NOT prevent injuries**. It doesn't cause them either, but if it doesn't prevent them, why do we stretch? [This study](http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2010_08_20_12_13_14) involved nearly 1,400 runners randomly divided into two groups: one that followed a static stretching routine lasting about 5 minutes, and another that didn't stretch at all. Everyone followed their normal running training for the three months the study lasted. In the end, both groups had the same percentage of injured athletes (16%), meaning the group that stretched didn't get any greater benefits in terms of injury prevention. The findings of this study are neither new nor atypical—most research fails to demonstrate that stretching prevents injuries.

**       2. Flexibility can harm performance**. [This study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19050648) from the University of Nebraska measured the flexibility of its runners and correlated it with their 10k times and running economy (how much oxygen is consumed running at a certain speed). The results were striking: the most flexible athletes had worse running economy than the more "rigid" ones. The least flexible athletes also had better 10k times. This is because a certain amount of stiffness allows for greater storage and use of elastic energy with each step. It's as if our legs were a spring: if they're rigid, we'll bounce more with each step (and therefore advance more). In other words, a certain amount of stiffness makes running easier. The results were the same among men, among women, and between men and women; the less flexible always had better running economy.

We're not saying you shouldn't stretch! We're just saying it shouldn't be a rule. In fact, in the study mentioned earlier, it was found that people who are used to always stretching and have been doing it for years shouldn't abruptly stop, because 23% of those who used to stretch and stopped got injured (compared to 16% as the average in the group). The researchers concluded that an abrupt change in stretching habits increases the risk of injury.

Confused? Well, this topic is tricky and everyone has their own take—while some defend stretching to the death, others say it's not necessary at all. In a nutshell, we can suggest the following:

- **If you're used to stretching and have always done it, keep doing it**. That said, being very flexible might be making you less "efficient" at running.
- **If you're not used to stretching and have never done it, don't do it**. Studies found that it doesn't prevent injuries and actually reduces running efficiency.

A Buen Paso uses [Massivo](https://massivoai.com), the event-registration platform that powers this article.