Stretching in football

Stretching in football

Football has plenty of famous moments such as raising one’s arms when celebrating a goal or building a wall when defending a field shot; but few are more recognisable than stretching before entering a match. Stretching is a global, standardised practice with the sole purpose of enhancing performance; it is essentially the precise handling of muscles and joints with the purpose of preparing the body for exercise or as a recovery method. This process is defined by two characteristics: muscle stiffness and flexibility.
Flexibility refers to the ability of joints to move through their full range of motion (ROM) without restriction or pain, needed for sudden, forceful actions like reaching for tackles or engaging in prolonged defensive efforts. Muscle stiffness (MS) plays a direct role in limiting ROM as it is defined as the resistance a muscle exhibits when stretched, shown during explosive movements such as sprinting and jumping where a level of muscle elasticity is needed for enhanced force transmission. The key to an optimal fitness objective for footballers, is achieving the right balance between these two concepts.
Stretching is the most effective method to enhance flexibility by guiding muscles through their full ROM. The main stretching techniques include: dynamic (controlled, movement-based stretches that actively engage the joints), static (holding a stretch in a fixed position for a set duration) and ballistic (forcefully pushing a muscle beyond its normal ROM using rapid movements). In all cases, stretching helps players reduce stress and improves mindfulness as they focus on their body movements.

While research is still debating on which technique has a greater impact on performance, it is common practice that dynamic stretching is proposed as part of the warm up routine pre-exercise. It increases heart rate and blood flow preparing muscles for activity and improves coordination as it activates key muscle groups for specific football movements thus reducing risk of injury. On the other hand, it requires proper technique to avoid strain as it could lead to muscle fatigue before a match.

Static stretching is usually most effective post exercise, as it helps relax and lengthen muscles reducing muscle soreness and stiffness, further aiding in recovery as it enhances blood flow. On the other hand, it is not proposed as a pre-match routine as it does not prepare muscles for high intensity actions, it can reduce explosive power (due to a reduction in muscle stiffness) and is susceptible to overstretching muscles thus increasing injury risk.

Ballistic stretching is meant to replicate match-realistic explosive movements such as sprinting, kicking or jumping. It enhances muscle stiffness properties leading to improved speed and power abilities as well as an increased flexibility for sharp changes in direction allowing for a more efficient movement. However, due to its sudden, forceful movements ballistic stretching involves a small amount of mastery as the movement lacks full control increasing risk of injury.

Within NYSA we firmly believe in these practices and thus we incorporate them in our training sessions. Our coaches have identified clear benefits in a dynamic stretching protocol along with a dynamic warm up routine together with static exercises at the end of training session during the cool down activities.