Did you ever think it over as a Physio...........?

Hi all,

As professionals, we all know that almost all the sporting activities or exercises start with a warm up including stretching of the muscles followed by a cooling down session which also includes the stretching. The purpose of this pre & post exercise/activity plus strectching is thought to prevent any kind of musculoskeletal injuries which is still a controversy with extensive research being done till date. At some part of the time we might have experienced either personally or professionally that stretching helps to reduce the risk of injury (which again is still an ongoing debate either it prevents or predisposes to injury). But...........

Now the question arises, what is the criteria for prescribing a warm-up session or a cool-down session..........? What are the factors considered to determine the warm-up and cool-down sessions........? On what basis is the force of stretch determined...............? Is there a set time for which these sessions should be done and does it apply to all the sports and all the athletes...........? What is the underlying rationale to prescribe all this and is there any scientific evidence to support this fact which is quite often practiced in sports.............? Finally, is it rightly practiced and does the implementation of these sessions really help the individual or is it just a blind belief.........?

Kindly, think it over and please put in your expert comments and suggestions. Any kind of an advise is most welcome and would be considered positively. All the replies will be highly appreciated, and I would be much obliged to receive your valuable replies.

God Bless...................

Viplav

Hi there,
Lets take each thing step by step.

First Warm Up and Cool Down:

Warm Up, Cool Down and Stretching routines should be performed before and after any physical activity is undertaken.

Warming up before exercise involves a general, low intensity activity such as jogging, walking, skipping or calisthenics, followed by stretching. Cooling down after exercise is similar to warming up and helps the body to recover after exercise.

There is no doubt that time spent on warming up and cooling down will improve an athlete's level of performance and accelerate the recovery process needed before training or competition. As a result the coach/trainers must encourage the athlete/individual to regard the warm up and cool down as an essential part of both the training session and competition itself.

Warm Up:

Muscle stiffness is thought to be directly related to muscle injury and therefore the warm up should be aimed at reducing muscle stiffness.

Warming up should at least consist of the following:
·5 to 10 minutes jogging - to increase body temperature
·10 to 15 minutes dynamic stretching exercises - reduce muscle stiffness
·10 to 15 minutes general and event specific drills - preparation for the session or competition. e.g. for a runner
oLower leg drills
oLeg drills
oTechnique drills
o4 to 8 easy run outs over 30 to 60 metres - focus on correct running technique (Tall, Relaxed, Smooth and Drive)
Dynamic stretches are more appropriate to the warm up as they help reduce muscle stiffness. Static exercises do not reduce muscle stiffness.

What are the benefits of a warm up?

Performance may be improved as an appropriate warm up will result in an:
·Increased speed of contraction and relaxation of warmed muscles
·Dynamic exercises reduce muscle stiffness
·Greater economy of movement because of lowered viscous resistance within warmed muscles
·Facilitated oxygen utilization by warmed muscles because hemoglobin releases oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperatures
·Facilitated nerve transmission and muscle metabolism at higher temperatures; a specific warm up can facilitate motor unit recruitment required in subsequent all out activity
·Increased blood flow through active tissues as local vascular beds dilate, increasing metabolism and muscle temperatures


Cool Down:

Warming down should consist of the following:

·5 to 10 minutes jogging/walking - decrease body temperature and remove waste products from the working muscles
·5 to 10 minutes static stretching exercises- decrease body temperature, remove waste products from the working muscles and to increase range of movement.

Static stretches are more appropriate to the cool down as they help muscles to relax and increase their range of movement.

What are the benefits of a cool down?

An appropriate cool down will:

·aid in the dissipation of waste products - including lactic acid
·reduce the potential for DOMS
·reduce the chances of dizziness or fainting caused by the pooling of venous blood at the extremities
·reduce the level of adrenaline in the blood

With regards to scientific evidences, researches are still going on. I have trained international athletes mainly cricketers and sailors. They have told me that stretching prior to workout does help them to perform better. And stretching during cool down also helps them in reducing muscle soreness. Even though there is no conclusive scientific evidence there are such physical evidences shown by these athletes. So we have to go through our experiences until there is a concrete written proof.

I hope that i was of some help.

Cheers. :D

Hi,

Thank you very much for your reply and all the information you have given which you refer to your personal experience with the atheletes.

It is understood and we are all aware, that this type of warm up and cool down sessions which you have described are being practiced, but my question again was, on what basis did you conclude that 5-10 minutes of jogging should be done to start off and then end with static stretching for a certain time. What was the rationale for prescribing that set amount of time for which the jogging and other activites should be performed either during training or during the actual competition on the field.

In terms of static stretching when you say the muscle should be stretched, how do you determine the force required to stretch the muscles and if done so is it done in the right way. I mean are we really stretching the muscle or just the fascia or the surrounding structres which may have a low threshold to the static force applied, which could be a limiting factor for further stretch. Alternatively it could be excessive stretch which might have damaged the tissue.

Well, I do understand its a broad topic for discussion but there should be something to start off where all our efforts together might lead to narrower and finer aspects of the related topic which might be of interest for some of them and also helpful to the remaining.

So why not we look into the factors which determine/ criteria for prescribing/ the rationale for performing these warm-up and cool down sessions. I also kindly request the other members of this group to actively participate in this discussion and make it more interesting with your expert ideas, views, experiences, comments and suggestions justifying the statement made so that we will have a strong evidence to support our discussion.

I am sure together we can and we will be able to find an answer eventually to all the questions everybody had in their minds and also who might have developed certain questions during the discussion; apart from me.

I hope it sounds sensible enough and would be helpful in some way or the other.

Cheers,
Viplav

Hi.

Interestingly, this is the topic of my current assignment for my masters!

Just to answer a small part of your question: a warm up is to increase intramuscular temperature. This is thought to help the Gogli Tendon Organ (GTO).

It appears that an old study (Asmussen e et al 1945) showed that after 10-15mins, intramuscular temperature hit the "magic" 39deg C at which they think the beneficial effects begin. It was at this temperature that peak performance was seen.

Hope it helps