Warming up and warming down

This blog emanates from a question posted on Ecademy's Running Club, of which I'm a member. For those of you who are also members of Ecademy (http://www.ecademy.com) you can access the full post here:- http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=club&op=forum&c=37&t=620152#endm

One of the Club members asked about dynamic and static stretching specifically in relation to running "In my now somewhat distant Rugby playing days, our warm-ups included a significant amount of static stretching. Now as a coach I'm told the latest information is static stretching decreases performance in "power" sports such as Rugby, so we should only include dynamic stretching in warm-ups. The theory, which I'm assured has been proven, being something like you need your muscles to move dynamically during performance, so your warm-up should match this. Static stretching is then included as part of the cool-down at the end of sessions/matches.

Does this also apply to running? Or is it only for "power" sports? My personal experience is since adopting this approach for my own running (dynamic stretching to warm-up, static stretching to cool down) I have suffered fewer injuries. But the fact my training is much less intense these days might also explain this!"

Another member Steve posted this useful link on the subject:- http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/dynamic.htm

and I managed to reply finally with this post

Hi there, back with my input

I do a few cursory static stretches before I set out on one of my long runs (up to two hours) but just potter off for my short runs (40 mins or thereabouts), regarding the first few minutes of my run as a warm up, in common with Steve and take it at a more gentle pace (same also applies on my long runs too after my stretching).

I tend to warm up and warm down more in the colder weather to ensure the soft tissues are less likely to be subjected to trauma and if I've been out of training for a while when I feel like the Tin Man out of the Wizard of Oz.

Mel Cash, the founder of the London School of Sports Massage says this of warming up and warming down in his book, Sport and Remedial Massage Therapy;

Warming up and Warming Down

"This is another area that is commonly neglected, which can result in injury. The particular tissues involved in the activity, as well as the general systems of the body must be prepared for the stresses that they are about to undergo. How this is done, is of course dependant on the sport in question as well as other factors, such as environment (temperature, weather etc). If cold and tight muscles are suddenly expected to expend hard effort they are vulnerable to damage.

A proper warm-down, which again is sport specific, is also important as it helps the recovery process to begin properly following hard exercise. After anaerobic activities for example, maintaining activity at about 50% intensity for a short period is believed to be the best way of facilitating the breakdown of accumulated lactic acid. Stretching is also an important part of a warm-down as it helps re-align muscle fibres and prevents the natural tightness and stiffness that often follows hard exercise."

And then there's age to consider :(

"This may be a relevant factor in relation to the points already mentioned. The ageing process does unfortunately mean that metabolic processes involved in recovery do slow down. And tendons become less well lubricated and so are more prone to damage. There may also be an accumulation of stress on specific structures over many years of repetitive training, leading to wear and tear. The older athlete basically needs to put more effort into helping the natural recovery processes work better. This usually means longer recovery periods (and massage) between training sessions, more stretching and proper warming up and down. For athletes who have been in the sport for many years it is often hard to accept these changes and it may be necessary for the therapist to explain the need."

Pre and post event factors

Post Event

"Although most athletes do carry out a warming down routine after training sessions, they often fail to do so after competition because of sheer exhaustion, elation or perhaps disappointment. (Sorry, lots of massage plugs coming up but it is worth recounting) Massage can be an adequate substitute for a warm-down as it can achieve much the same effect by removing muscle waste and stretching the tissues......Gentle passive stretching of all the main muscles or those that are particularly sore should be carried out at the end of a treatment. This will make up for what the athlete neglects to do or will add to whatever stretching he has done."

Pre Event

"It is important to realise that no two sportsmen respond to massage in quite the same way and this can present problems if asked to treat an athlete for the first time in a pre-event situation. Ideally an athlete should see how he responds to pre-event treatment at a competition that is not of major importance to him. This gives the therapist and the athlete a chance to develop the most suitable procedure. ....Pre event massage can be considered anything from two days to two minutes before the event and the treatment approach will differ according to the time scale. ....Two days before the event a massage can be deep, thorough and relaxing so that the athlete gets the maximum recuperative benefits from the tapering down process that should precede an event.

Deep treatment, especially if there are specific problem areas to be attended to may take a day or two to recover from and should therefore not be given too close to the event. And deep massage can relax the muscles so much that some athletes find that for a time, they lose some of the explosive power they might need.

As the competition gets closer, massage treatment needs to become more specific to the demands of the sport and the wishes of the athlete. The main muscles used in the event are of course the principle ones to treat.

It is often assumed that treatment needs to be stimulating, especially in a sport that requires great speed, strength or explosive power but pre-competition nervousness and excitement may achieve this anyway and it is sometimes necessary to relax and calm the athlete down a little. This can be done with gentle body rocking and shaking movements rather than by working too deeply into the tissues as the muscles themselves should not be relaxed too much. It is also useful to ask the athlete how he likes to feel generally when he goes into the event. Normally he will want to feel excited and "fired up" but occasionally you come across an athlete who ays he likes to feel more relaxed. Indeed there are sports, such as shooting or bowls where being calm and relaxed is vital for good performance.

In the last hour or so before an event, massage is not a substitute for a proper warm up but should be seen as just one part of the warm-up. For an athlete who is well trained and properly prepared for his event, the effect of the massage at this time should be more psychological than physical and should give an extra boost to his confidence."

I took this information off the link Steve has kindly provided:-

"Current research work detailed in Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise 33(3), pp354-358 and Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 15 (1): 98-101 suggests that the use of dynamic stretches - slow controlled movements through the full range of motion - are the most appropriate exercises for warming up. By contrast, static stretches are more appropriate for the cool down

The following are examples of dynamic stretching and mobility exercises, which could form part of the warm up program in a training session. The dynamic exercises you incorporate into your warm up program should be appropriate to the movements you would experience in your sport/event. In all the exercises breathe easily whilst performing them."

Active Isolated Stretching

I have to say, I'm completely sold on the most recent work I'm incorporating into my treatments; Active Isolated Stretching or AIS. I did a course in March of this year with Michael Collins of http://www.themagichands.co.uk which was superb. Some great stretches for runners, cyclists, triathletes etc which I'm already incorporating into my treatments. Michael lives in East London and does a lot of work with the East London Triathletes. Worth considering if you're out that way.

It's very rigorous work and painful when you're on the receiving end of it but surprisingly, despite being stretched to high heaven, I wasn't sore at all in the days following the course and it's a nice sort of, it feels like it's doing you good pain. We sporty types will know what that feels like!

I worked on a runner this Monday who'd run the marathon. He'd never had a sports massage treatment before and really enjoyed the treatment. I included some AIS on his hamstrings, calves, quads, psoas, iliacus, glutei, adductors, abductors etc and specific general work on his ITB, rec fem etc etc. For new clients, unless they've had AIS before or know what is entailed, you have to allay their wide eyed bewilderment first as you brandish a seat belt and mobilisation strap in their face prior to treatment, lol.

In essence you strap the client to the couch around their pelvis to stablise the body and attach a belt with a loop to the selected lower limb, offering the client the other end of the strap so they can help to facilitate the stretch. As a practitioner you take it to the point of bind - with the active assistance of your client and then apply a bit of overpressure just for a couple of seconds, ouch , then take the limb etc back to the starting position and repeat up to 10 times.

Different stretches isolate specific muscles. For example, rather than just stretching the hamstrings generally, you can isolate the semimembranosus, semitendinosus or the biceps femoris and it's interesting to observe how the inner or outer aspect of the hamstrings can be much tighter than the other - not always evident when you're applying a general stretch to the hamstrings.

I love the work, the clients love it (if their poison is deep tissue rigorous work, not the holistic, relaxing treatments which I also do) and despite the fact I'm only tiny (5ft 2"), I can throw strapping great rugby types around with this work. Good old leverage and the fact I'm agile and fit. I'm guessing I won't be clambering on the table to the degree I do now when I'm coming up to retirement and beyond (no way am I going to stop working) but you never know. If I keep running through life, there's every chance I will!

I'm beginning to work on teens with this new work too. One new client whose family used to live in Hong Kong had been looking for someone who did AIS and were delighted to find a practitioner locally. There are a plethora of therapists out there but not that many who do sports massage and it is seriously worth considering implementing massage into your training programme if you train regularly, as I've discovered over the years - and I have to say, even though I know the benefits, even I don't get treatments often enough! Especially when I'm training very actively.

If you contact the LSSM (http://www.lssm.com) you can find a database of therapists in your area. And Michael Collins is quite frankly, brilliant:- http://www.themagichands.co.uk/

He's been over to the U.S. to train in AIS and I've only just scratched the surface with the intensive weekend of training I did with him but that's combined with my existing skills of course. However, he did hint at more courses with even more defined stretches being brought in. Presumably targeting some of the smaller, phasic muscles. Count me in Michael!

And here's a profile of Mel, another dynamic practitioner, the founder of the LSSM and stalwart of sports massage therapy with a great line in yak jokes :):- http://www.lssm.com/mel_cash.html

And this is my website - prepare to be bored ;):- http://www.emmajames.co.uk