Stretching and Muscular Endurance Performance

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What Was the Question?

While it has become common practice for coaches and trainers to accept and promote the virtues of stretching before performing exercise or engaging in sports, it appears that the athletic world's beliefs about stretching may exceed what is actually known. Seemingly, the contention is that pre-event stretching not only reduces the potential for injury, but is also associated with enhanced performance. However, as noted by Nelson, Kokkonen, and Arnall (2005), recent reviews have not unequivocally supported this alleged relationship. The researchers observed that studies have found pre-event stretching to actually inhibit such indices as maximal force production, torque exerted, vertical …