This weeks question
What is the difference between static and dynamic stretching? Which one is better?
My answer
Static and dynamic stretching has been a "hot topic" in the world of rehab and performance for some time now. For some of us, our perspective on stretching comes from gym class in the 90's where we would hold a variety of positions and count as a class to 30 seconds. For others, they may have had a sports coach or other influence who taught them about "dynamic stretching" where we stretch a muscle not by holding it but by moving through positions. This type of stretching or warm up typically doesn't involve any holds of positions and rather a continuous movement of the body.
As far as what is better, as always it depends on the goal. If our goal is to truly increase our range of motion - as in, move our joint into positions it has never been before, some static stretching may be necessary (gymnasts im looking at you)
However, for many of us, especially adults, our goal with stretching is to move our bodies through the available range of motion (as in, I can normally reach my arms over head but I just woke up and I am stiff). In this case we are not necessarily trying to increase our range of motion (if we had it last night or last week, it is still there) but we are trying to access our range of motion. For these situations, our bodies respond much better to dynamic stretching, as they feel less threatened and and keep the nervous system calm to allow a full range of movement.
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