In praise of S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G

Hello lovely fellow runners!

I thought I'd just nip back and share something here which I probably should have picked up on whilst going through C25K, and definitely should have whilst doing Bridge to 10K. Stretching. I promised myself I'd write this post here when I got back up to 10k again. I had run as far as 12.5k but then had all sorts of issues with random leg pain, and it turns out it was due to muscle tightness, which could have been avoided by proper stretching. Only when I finally gave in and saw a decent sports physio did this finally click in my thick head! Stretching. Your no.1 tool for avoiding injury. *it might not actually be the number 1 tool, but it sounded good in the post!!

Now I am not an expert in this stuff, clearly, but basically I wanted to try and help other people avoid struggling with unnecessary pain. I'm not talking broken knee or snapped hamstring-type pain. That would be proper pain, a badge of honour even. I'm talking silly pain caused by not stretching out your muscles properly.

I learned from my physio that because I am one of a rare breed of runners who "supinate" or "under-pronate", I am more susceptible to muscle tightness. Don't ask me why, but I think it's something to do with the fact that my feet naturally roll outwards, so my leg muscles strain to correct that. Or something.

Anyway, I've heard many things on here about how you should stretch before a run so you don't strain yourself, or after a run whilst you are still warmed up, but my physio's advice was just to keep stretching. Stretching, done properly, won't damage you if you aren't "warmed up", it actually helps prevent injury because it increases your range of movement. The good old NHS has a good plan for stretching "after" a run, which us keen runners can find here: nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h...

However, for me, this wasn't enough. I had been doing those stretches after most runs, but it seems that for my legs that wasn't quite enough, hence my physio gave me my own stretching regime to follow. What I stopped doing was stretching before a run, because I didn't want to risk an injury. Turns out that advice, which I think I'd picked up/misread from this forum wasn't right, for me at least. If in doubt, consult your doctor or a physio, obviously.

All I can say is that since I added about 5 minutes of calf/quad stretching before my runs, my running life has been transformed. The added movement it has given me has reduced my risk of straining things, and I don't feel half so bad after runs. I still do pretty much the same stretches afterwards too, and up to 3 times per day also. What the physio said to me made sense though, and was well worth the £42.50 for half an hours torture, I mean, session. Don't worry, I've been back a few more times, and he says he can see that the stretching is doing it's job.

So - not sure what you want to take away from this, draw your own conclusions obviously, seek medical advice from a trained professional where necessary, but this has given me my joy back!

Oh - one last thing, I still do dip into the C25K forum quite often, and am really encouraged by 3 types of posts: The W1R1 posts (yay for off the couch!), the W5R3 posts (yay for breaking the menal barrier) and the W9R3 posts - obviously. Couch to 5K is brilliant and has transformed my life. I hope it is transforming yours too.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Great post Neil..this is why we guide people towards the FAQ for Newbies.. where the links for stretching and the importance of it, are there for everyone starting...we encourage folk to carry on and then get a whole regular routine of thorough stretching going... which hopefully will keep them from the IC.

It makes a real difference and yes.... the physio... exquisite torture and soooo worth it!

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

Haha that's a good description, exquisite torture. Mine basically folds me in half a few times, gives my back a good massage (which I actually love) and then seems to jab his fingers inside my leg to do that horrendous/fantastic trigger pointing thing. Love it!!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Deep Sports massage...eekk.. I had acupuncture too after my calf tear... ! Did the trick and as you say.. money very well spent indeed!

[Gran4z Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Acupuncture is great, as is cranio-sacral osteopathy. I have both regularly to keep my old bones, muscles, tendons etc. functioning! Does the trick!! Sports massage sounds tempting though, the quads often feel tight after the longer runs.

Happy running 🙂🌻

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

Also, I hope it was OK to post this, I didn't want it to come across as official C25K advice or anything. I just wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it would help some people on here. Better go - need to do more stretching

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Great advice Neil and folk do miss the FAQ....

[Hidden in reply to Oldfloss]

Including me, it seems!! Well you see, I never thought I’d make it past W1R1 😂

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Hidden]

No..I didn't mean that... its hard to get all the important stuff highlighted,, and when we have taken polls on it a lot of folk still don't realise that things like stretching and some forms of strength and stamina exercise are really an integral of the plan.. You have done wonderfully and a real real stalwart support member f the forum

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Nice post... I’m trying to be good with stretches, but whilst I run in the cold, walking and standing about isn’t for me... do a few and then into the car with heated seats on, dash in the house and do a few more. Also was reading that leg balances, 5 minutes a day per foot, reduces ACL injury rates and also helps you not to fall on your face mid run, side benefit. So I’ve been doing this a week or so and now I have to do it while turning my head!

[Hidden in reply to UnfitNoMore]

My understanding from my physio is that it you don't have to stretch immediately before running, the effect tends to last for a little while, so if you stretch at home before you set off you'll probably be OK. Certainly that's worked for me recently. The way my legs work, I can test how well stretched I am by pulling my heel up towards my bottom... the closer I can get, the more flexible my muscles are. I've had a good stretching session this morning because I woke up quite stiff after yesterday, and it seems to have helped.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Stretches need warm muscles though... or you could be in danger of damaging them, and while not in a competition I was reading that pre run stretching takes about 5% off performance. I do tend to do the heel to butt jog before I run though... pretty sure I could bruise myself! I need to do more work on hips though.

runnersworld.com/health-inj...

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Donkey kicks...love em...I entertain the neighbours most run days..😉

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Is that what they’re called? I know they look daft... I expect to be on YouTube at some point 😂

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

They do look daft but they are great...

[cheekychipmunks Graduate]

Great advice there Neil, thank you! It’s all too easy to skip stretching - after all it’s not as much fun as running! But it’s obviously crucial and we all need reminding. So thank you! 👏👍😀

[Hidden in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks Cheeky, yes, I think we do, so easy to forget when everything's going well!!

[Rooster678]

Brilliant post Neil, I'm struggling to stretch properly so this weekend's task is to out together a five minute routine that I can follow through pre and post run as wells as through the day. My legs are tight and I KNOW I have to stretch , I just need to put together a few exercises which I can do without thinking. I know I'll be able to run further without the tightness I feel in my legs.

Thank you for pushing this message through, it's the nudge I needed. Happy stretching, happy running 😁

[Hidden in reply to Rooster678]

My pleasure! It's when our muscles are quite tense that we are at greater risk of injury, because we have a reduced range of comfortable movement, hence stretching really helps, plus you'll probably get some extra pace out of it too.

If you take a general stretching routine such as the one I mentioned above, that will usually show you which muscles are tight, so for me, those are the ones I tend to focus on the most. No point spending ages stretching a muscle that is already nice and relaxed, well not if you have limited time, like most of us!!

[happysouls Graduate]

Thank you that has been a helpful read! I'm hobbling again currently and really need to get this sorted! Bookmarked the NHS page for making more notes and will be trying much better warm ups once I get to the point of attempting to resume!

[Hidden in reply to happysouls]

Glad it helped, and sorry to hear about your hobbling. Might be worth checking with your doctor or a physio if the problems you're having are something that can be cured by stretching. I'm not naive enough to think that stretching is the magic bullet for everything, but I do think in the right situation it can be a game changer. About 3 weeks ago, running for 90 minutes was unthinkable, but thanks largely to the stretching, I somehow managed that yesterday, and I'm feeling quite positive about my recovery from that run too

I hope you are back up and running very soon, literally

[BeckySharp1]

Thank you for the post. I am paranoid about stretching, having really struggled with tight hamstrings in the past. I too visited a sports physio and got some good advice and as you say, it really is worth the money

[Hidden in reply to BeckySharp1]

I never used to do enough, but you're so right, it's really helpful I think.

[SirVillian Graduate]

Great stuff, feel like I owe you some money towards your physio bills. Thanks for sharing the tips on stretching , it’s the main thing which C25k lacks. Gotta love the whole positive vibe, can-do mentality as well as the normal British esprit de corps turned up to 11, which is oozing out of everyone. As you say, it has been a life transforming period and long may it continue. Best wishes for your rehabilitation into your running progress, and thanks again for the free stretching tips.

[Hidden in reply to SirVillian]

Thank you! Just trying to share what helped me, that's all. I tend to think a wholistic approach is good too, diet, rest, and positive mental attitude all help. I've found this forum and more recently the Bridge to 10k forum invaluable, and are now the only social media I am part of lol!!

[molly1973 Graduate]

A good reminder: thank you. I am generally pretty tight and tend to under pronate so it all makes a lot of sense. Probably explains the knee pain I currently have too.

[Hidden in reply to molly1973]

Yes, I get that too. Under-pronating is really annoying isn’t it? Apparently given time and the right strengthening exercises you can train your foot to support you properly. Until that point, have you consulted a podiatrist about insoles? I did, and once I got used to the insoles, I’ve seen a reduction in the niggles certainly.

[molly1973 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I work with podiatrists so I might give that a try: thank you

[Hidden in reply to molly1973]

I hope that goes well for you, and I’d be interested to hear how you get on. Good luck!