Should Baseball Players Stretch?
I have had several clients ask me if stretching is important of the last few weeks, so I thought I would group my thoughts in one place.
The answer, as I hinted, is not a simple yes or no answer it depends on a few variables that I want to break down in the next few lines.
Things to consider:
1) What is tight and why?
One of the most common things I hear is that people say they are “not flexible” because they cannot touch their toes. They think their hamstrings are tight and that they should stretch in order to loosen the muscles. However, most of the time, it is not the hamstrings that are restricting the movement, but the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve can irritate the back of the hip, thigh, and calf and can restrict movements that stretch those areas. The only way to determine the cause of the tightness is to test muscle nerve tension, which would have to be done in the clinic.
2) Does stretching help improve performance?
Many of my baseball players say they want to run faster or throw harder and they think stretching will help with that. But what does the research say? This article found a 12% decrease in power production following a bout of static stretching. The argument could then be made that static stretching is not helpful before performance training or before a sporting event.
3) Is there a better way to improve mobility?
One option that could be more helpful to increase mobility is to perform exercises through full range of motion. For example, performing a squat as far down as possible, or performing a pull-up and extending the arms all the way before starting the next rep. The benefit to this type of training is that you can lengthen the muscle and strengthen the muscle at the same time, which is usually a good thing. If your time is limited by practice, school, and homework, this would be your best bet.
I’m not saying stretching is never helpful. What I am saying is that it depends on the type of restriction you have and what your goals are for performance.
