More About Hamstrings and Stretching

I've been thinking a lot of hamstrings and stretching lately, so it was surprise and amazement that I read the following extraordinary paragraph on www.runnersworld.com, in the "Ask The Running Doc" feature. The column is by Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, who writes:

"To reduce your risk of re-injury, please take the time to stretch your hamstrings after every run. Running normally causes microtears between the hamstrings’ muscle fibers, and without stretching the fibers heal back shorter. Over time this decreases your stride length—so you run slower—and makes the hamstring vulnerable to a serious pull or tear. The more you stretch daily, the better; you can’t do too much. If you follow this advice, hamstring worries can be forgotten!"

The author is credited with being "...the world’s premier running physician... medical director of the New York Road Runners, ING New York City Marathon, all of Elite Racing’s Musical Marathons, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program." I on the other hand, am nobody.

And yet, I think Dr. Maraham is wrong, or at least seriously incomplete. First of all, numerous studies have failed to show that systematic stretching before or after runs helps prevent injuries. Here's a recent NY Times Article on that very topic. It states:

"The truth is that after dozens of studies and years of debate, no one really knows whether stretching helps, harms, or does anything in particular for performance or injury rates."

I know, I know, you (and I) don't care what these studies say, we're going to keep on stretching no matter what the papers say... but surely the world's premier running physician would at least hedge a little bit in the face of all that evidence, wouldn't he?

But what I found far more troubling was that line about the micro-tears. "Running normally causes microtears between the hamstrings’ muscle fibers, and without stretching the fibers heal back shorter." What kind of organism is built so that normal activity causes it to break down? Is the human body a lemon when it comes to running?

No, of course not! What's missing from this discussion is that we stretch every time we move. Warming up by walking or jogging is a form of stretching, as are flexibility drills, and, in deed, those static stretches that we all learned and that are now discredited.

Anyway, as someone who has been suffering with sore hamstrings for some time now, I can tell you that I have been stretching more than I ever have in my life. Three, four times a day. Before runs, after runs, in boring meeting. If stretching were a religion, I would be up for canonization. And you know what? It's made almost no difference whatsoever to my injury, or my running, or my sense of well being. I have even begun to suspect that it, not normal running, is introducing those pesky micro-tears that Dr. Maraham warns about.

You know what works? Massage works. Massage + patience + a good warmup + adequate sleep + a sense of humor works even better. Stretching is not the answer. Maybe it's part of the answer, but from where I sit, it's only a small part.