In the first of an exciting new exclusive monthly column from Spain’s National Football team, Dr Claudio tells Olive Press readers about stretching.
AS the head doctor for the Spanish national football team the most common question I get asked is probably about warm up exercises.
People are always intrigued to know if they should stretch before or after exercise… or both.
Traditionally, static stretching exercises were done prior to sporting activity.
This pattern has changed in recent years.
Several studies show that static stretching prior to activity may increase the risk of injury, since cold stretching would be counterproductive if it exceeds the appropriate level of intensity.
It could also lead to a decrease in physical strength and endurance, which would in turn affect sporting performance.
If you stretch before sport, you will run less and likely feel more fatigued.
The best thing to do before sport is a series of dynamic exercises to activate the muscles, increasing blood flow and joint mobility.
To conclude, running at a low intensity as well as some balance exercises is likely suitable before sport.
After physical activity, muscle tone and fatigue increase due to exercise.
The best thing to do is to stretch to normalise muscle tone, re-establish muscle blood flow and prevent future injuries.
Stretching should be gentle, without being painful, because if we do it with great intensity we could cause micro-tears in the muscle.
After stretching, I also recommend applying local colds. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and has an analgesic effect.
For more information about health matters, minimally invasive therapies such as intra-articular injections with hyaluronic acid or platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or to discuss any questions related to joint conditions, you can contact Dr Claudio at
claudio.vazquezcolomo@gmail.com
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