To stretch or not to stretch? That is the question – By Trina Lat
Stretching is often part of a warm up in any sport and it is a common notion that it can prevent injury and improve performance, however, there is inconclusive evidence in the literature that it prevents injury and some studies have even reported that it has negative effects on performance in certain sports such as sprinting and high jumping.
Stretching is very controversial. Some people conclude that stretching increases flexibility, however this increase in muscle length is very temporary. Some researchers claim that there is no difference in muscle length after stretching. It is also not clear whether stretching increases blood flow to the muscles; however we know that an increase in heart rate, results in an increase in the blood flow all over the body.
Did you know that there is a lot of research out there that says active warm-ups are more beneficial than static warm –ups such as stretching? Active warm-ups involve doing big movements by bigger joints. They can be jogging or ballistic stretching. In climbing an active warm-up can be easy by traversing on the wall for 15 minutes using bigger and easier to use holds. Push-ups and pull ups can also be considered as active warm-ups.
So, to stretch or not to stretch…that is the question!
So let’s take a look at what is important to preventing upper limb injuries in climbing…
Sport rock climbing involves repetitive high torque movements in going up a rock face, or wall that is often overhanging. So it is not surprising that a lot of climbers sustain chronic overuse injuries of the upper limbs, especially the hands. Hand injuries are specific to hand hold types. This means that, the smaller the holds, the greater amount of pressure is placed on our joints and ligaments. You can “tweak or cause a twang in your fingers as the pressure on the tendons build up. Jugs and very big pockets are a lot friendlier to our hands than single finger pockets, or tiny crimpers. To prevent putting too much stress on the ligaments of the hands, you have to ensure that the joints are properly warmed up, and make sure that you don’t climb with “cold hands” on crimps. As mentioned above, it is unclear if stretching increases blood flow to the hands. So to stretch or not to stretch… again, that is the question!
What about injuries in the legs? Do we have to stretch?
Climbing involves a lot of footwork. Some of the important techniques are high stepping and stemming. A high step is described as placing your foot on a hold that may be as high as your waist. Stemming is a technique where in you position your feet as far apart as possible to attain stability and balance to reach for the next hold.. These two require a certain amount of flexibility to be able to do them. You can strain your inner thigh muscles or cramp up if you high step without adequate flexibility.
In a nutshell…
In sport climbing, it is important to be specific with warm-up and stretches and know what muscles to stretch. For the upper extremities, especially the hands, it is more important to traverse and warm-up on easy climbs and bigger jugs before getting on the sloping and crimpy routes. Warming up joints and making sure that there is enough blood flow in the forearms and hands will prevent injuring ligaments and tendons in the fingers.
For the lower extremities, it is important to stretch the hamstrings, inner thigh muscles or adductors as these are the muscles that are put in a stretched position when high stepping or stemming. If you have adequate range of motion in the hip joint, you can position yourself better on the wall and be more efficient; you are less likely to strain a muscle.
Active warm-ups such as traversing, push-ups and pull-ups are good examples for increasing the blood flow in the upper extremity- keeping the finger joints mobile and increasing the compliancy of the finger tendons which will lower the risk of pulling a tendon or ligament.
Stretching is a highly debated area and continues to be so, however, the development of range around a joint through regular flexibility training will decrease your likelihood of reaching critical strain whilst performing your sport – which therefore in my mind decreases your risk of injury and increases your ability to perform.
Take time to warm up the upper extremities and stretch those legs. Climbing is awesome when you climb injury -free. So see you at the gym!
Trina