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John Steinbreder, GolfersMD News
Reviewed by the
GolfersMD Medical Review Board.
May 31, 2010
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Stretching seems a simple enough process, but according to GolfersMD expert Bob Donatelli, there is most definitely a right and wrong way to do it. And the possibilities of better performance are much higher when the correctly approach is followed.
“Traditionally, athletes have used static stretching as a warm-up to get ready for their sports,” says Donatelli, a physical therapy expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada who has worked with a number of top touring professionals. “That’s the traditional ‘hold-the-stretch’ routine. The thinking was that those sorts of exercises reduced injuries as they improved things like balance and performance. But the fact is, there is no evidence of those sorts of benefits. Actually, static stretching can actually reduce performance levels because elongated muscles are less capable of generating the same amount of force they were previously, and produce less strength as a result.”
What is far better, Donatelli says, is so-called active stretching in which a person moves as he stretches. Getting on a treadmill for ten minutes before a round of golf is an example of that. “Doing that increases your body temperature and consequently will help give you the range of motion and flexibility you need,” he explains. “It stimulates circulation to the muscle and warms it up.”
As far as active stretching is concerned, Donatelli prefers what he calls “marching types.” One of his favorites is straight leg marching, in which a person lifts his legs high as he walks, to loosen the hamstrings in particular. (See video in above link.) Another is called the leg cradle, a sort of variation of that exercise that is geared to deal with the hips. Then, there is the lateral lunge, which is designed to stretch the inner thigh.
“There’s no doubt that these types of stretches are more beneficial to athletes than the static ones of old,” Donatelli concludes. “And they will make it easier for you to put forth your best effort.”
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