Should you stretch sore muscles?

[savedbygrace]

I tried to search for this topic but couldn't find anything, which I was probably looking in the wrong place also. If you stretch really well and have a good workout and the next day your muscles are sore (specifically your hamstings and front of thighs) is it ok to stetch these areas the next day or dont stretch and let them rest? Thanks.

[little kicker]

id say strech VERY gentle not even to your limitation.well thats what i do but im no expert

[lordtariel]

It's good to stretch them, but you have to know your limits. Stretch too far and you tear muscle fibers which will scar up and decrease your flexibility. The best way to go is to stretch it untill it just hurts a little, then back off slightly. I'm sure Sohan would be able to tell you more about it though.

[Sohan]

Keep in mind that muscle soreness arises from inflammation with exercise that was too intense for the body to recover from completely. If you stretch a muscle that is very sore without a complete warmup of the fibers involved, you risk tearing the muscle or creating microtrauma that can weaken the fiber and result in a later injury. Tired or sore muscles tear very easily compared to fully rested muscles.

Light stretching seems to help some people, and there are plenty of studies that suggest it may actually help speed recovery of the muscle tissue. Just make sure you warm up the muscles involved with heat and light exercise first.

However...

Overall much of the research I have read seems to be conflicted on what is the best way to deal with muscle soreness. Some recommend a light workout to help speed recovery, some advise stretching, and some advise complete rest. I have personally found rest to be the quickest way to get back to business, FWIW.

With respect,

Sohan

[savedbygrace]

Thank you all for your replies.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with Sohan. If you do a hard stretch routine one day, take it easy and let the muscles rest the next day. Instead, stretch another area.

[TheDevilAside]

I read a study in Men's Health magazine that showed doing calisthenics will actually decrease muscle soreness and increase the rate of recovery. But keep in mind, that's just correlative data.

I can see how that would work, though. Performing any light calisthenics exercise inevitably stretches your muscle, but within a natural range of movement. Emphasis on light, though, as there is a line between doing calisthenics to relieve muscle soreness, and simply overtraining.

I've never actually seen any compelling studies that indicate that stretching decreases muscle soreness. A lot of them were based on the old conception that muscle soreness is caused by lactic acid build up, but we believe this to no longer be true. Muscle soreness, in all likelihood, is due to little tears on your muscle tissue. It wouldn't make sense for stretching to alleviate that.

Calisthenics, on the other hand, increase blood flow to those muscles which may benefit recovery.

If you do want to stretch, use controlled movement: slowly and carefully. Don't extend yourself very much. Respond to your body, you have pain receptors for a reason, so when it hurts a lot, back off

Hope that helped.