FACTS

1. Dynamic stretching is better when warming up.
2. To increase range of motion, try PNF stretching.
3. Stretching does not prevent muscle soreness.
4. Stretching improves your flexibility.
5. Stretching can decrease your risk of injury.
6. Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles.
7. Stretching throughout the day is a good idea.
8. You should never bounce when you stretch.
9. Stretch on both sides to keep everything balanced.

STATS

• Stretching is beneficial to the overall health of the body and plays a role in reducing musculoskeletal disorders among employees. MSD’s account for more than 600,000 injuries and illnesses and 34 percent of all workdays lost.
• Hundreds of thousands of workers sit at a computer or desk all day long. But experts say it doesn’t matter where the sitting takes place – at the office, at school, or in the car; in front of a computer or in front of a television screen – it’s the overall number of hours spent sitting that matters most.
• Inactivity or being sedentary increases the pressure on spinal discs by about 40 percent more than standing, according to a 2009 report in Medical News Today.
• A study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that static stretching before a workout reduced participants’ strength in the squat by 8.36 percent, and reduced lower-body stability by 22.68 percent. A research review of 104 studies found that static stretching reduces overall strength in the stretched muscles by almost 5.5 percent.