CONTROVERSY: Do We Need to Stretch?

There are a ton of activities that most people would classify as stretching. So, let’s begin with a call for quality because this thing isn’t of the same quality of an intentional, stability-creating, load bearing range-of-motion development. 

Not all stretching is created equal. 

The title of this article actually isn’t to shut down effective mobility efforts as much as it is a general statement that if you feel you have to do anything on a regular basis that doesn’t improve your condition, it should be re-examined. 

This is true beyond stretching, too. If you need to regularly seek soft tissue treatment to not get better, you likely just need a better treatment. Stretching has a positive connotation and, as a result, becomes a wasteland of positive intent and wasted time. 

If you stretch 30-minutes a day, I’d hope you’re impressively mobile or that you’d try something else. Do you need to stretch? Maybe. But, if you do try a method with intentionality that garners adaptation.