Stretching to Reduce Joint and Muscle Injury: By Virginia Thomas.

Proper stretching before and after you exercise is key to getting the most out of your workout. There are different types of stretches, depending on what you are trying to achieve. And the wrong type of stretching on the wrong muscle groups may increase your chances of joint or muscle injury.

Dynamic stretching
Dynamic stretching - the best type of pre-exercise stretching you can do - targets tight muscles by repeatedly moving into and out of the stretch position until they loosen up. The idea is to move slowly and never stop moving for more than a second or two. Basically, you want to replicate the movement you are about to engage in.

When running, for example, the leg flexes and extends. So you would begin your dynamic stretching before a run by slowly swinging your leg forward and backward, increasing the range of motion with each swing.

Static stretching
Static holding techniques used to lengthen short muscles may actually sedate the muscles being stretched if done prior to a workout. This is not a desirable result when you're about to run or play a game of golf. Static stretching, on all the muscle groups involved in an exercise, is best done afterward.

To stretch the calves after a run, for example, step forward with the right leg in a lunge position. Keeping your left leg long and your heel in contact with the ground, slowly bend your right knee until you feel a stretch in the left calf. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Then repeat on the other side.

 

20 injury prevention tips:

● Avoid training when you are tired.
● Increase your consumption of carbohydrate during periods of heavy training.
● Increase in training should be matched with increases in resting.
● Any increase in training load should be preceded by an increase in strengthening.
● Treat even seemingly minor injuries very carefully to prevent them becoming a big problem.
● If you experience pain when training stop your training session immediately.
● Never train hard if you are stiff from the previous effort.
● Pay attention to hydration and nutrition.
● Use appropriate training surfaces.
● Check training and competition areas are clear of hazards.
● Check equipment is appropriate and safe to use.
● Introduce new activities very gradually.
● Allow lots of time for warming up and cooling off .
● Check over training and competition courses beforehand.
● Train on different surfaces, using the right footwear.
● Shower and change immediately after the cool down.
● Aim for maximum comfort when travelling.
● Stay away from infectious areas when training or competing very hard.
● Be extremely fussy about hygiene in hot weather.
● Monitor daily for signs of fatigue, if in doubt ease off.
● Have regular sports massage.