Stretching: What It’s Actually Good For (and What It Won’t Fix)

Jan 5

Written By YJ Cho

Stretching is one of the most common “health habits” active adults rely on, especially in NYC. It feels productive. It feels athletic. And when something is tight or cranky, stretching is often the first thing people reach for.

But if you zoom out, stretching has become a catch-all solution for problems it was never designed to solve: pain, posture, injury prevention, recovery, performance.

A 2025 Delphi consensus statement led by Warneke and colleagues set out to bring clarity to the conversation by filtering the existing research and translating it into practical recommendations. Important note: a Delphi study is not a single experiment. It is a structured expert consensus method that synthesizes the current body of evidence and produces “best-available guidance,” especially where research is mixed or incomplete. In other words, this paper is evidence-informed, but it is still a consensus statement, not a randomized controlled trial. PMC

Here’s what the authors and an international panel of stretching researchers agree on: stretching works very well for a few specific outcomes. And it falls short for many of the reasons people keep doing it.

The simplest reframe

Stretching is not a “fix.” It is a tool.

The question is not “Should you stretch?”
The question is “What outcome are you trying to get?”

At Zero Point One, we filter everything through function, capacity, and longevity. If a tool reliably improves your ability to train, move, or feel confident in your body, we use it. If it mainly gives you the illusion of progress, we replace it with something that actually raises your ceiling.

What stretching is reliably good for

1) Short-term range of motion (ROM) gains

The strongest consensus finding is straightforward: stretching increases ROM acutely (in the short term). PMC+2PMC+2

The practical guidance: for most muscles, 30–60 seconds per muscle is a typical recommendation to see meaningful acute changes, though some areas respond differently and some joints (like ankle dorsiflexion) are constrained by bony anatomy. PMC

What this means in real life:
If your goal is to open up a range before training (for example, to hit a deeper squat position) stretching can be helpful. But it is not the only option.

2) Long-term flexibility changes (with the right dose)

Stretch training also improves ROM chronically (over weeks). But dosage matters. The panel recommends static stretching or PNF over dynamic stretching if your primary goal is long-term flexibility, with 2–3 sets daily, held 30–120 seconds per muscle, aiming for a high weekly volume. PMC+1

Key nuance: the paper highlights what we see clinically all the time: you can improve ROM through other methods, especially strength training through full ranges (particularly with eccentric emphasis). PMC+1

If your current “mobility routine” is stretching-only, you may be leaving the biggest driver of usable flexibility on the table: strength in range.

Where stretching falls short (and why people get stuck)

1) Stretching is not a reliable injury-prevention strategy

The panel does not recommend stretching for injury prevention “in general.” There may be a small reduction in muscle injury incidence with static stretching, but the evidence is mixed and may involve trade-offs (for example, fewer muscle injuries paired with more bone/joint injuries in some datasets). PMC+1

If your goal is resilience, the better bet is boring but effective: progressive loading, strength, stability, and exposure to the demands of your sport or lifestyle. That aligns with broader injury-prevention evidence across training-based interventions. PMC

2) Stretching does not meaningfully “fix posture”

This is one of the clearest statements in the paper: stretching does not promote relevant postural changes. PMC+1

Posture is not a single muscle-length problem. It is a behavior plus a capacity issue: what positions you default to, what your nervous system tolerates, and whether you have strength and control to live in different shapes.

3) Stretching is not a recovery tool (for what most people want)

The panel does not recommend stretching as a post-exercise recovery routine for DOMS, strength recovery, or ROM recovery, based on current evidence (with the authors noting overall confidence is low and more research is needed under real-world conditions). PMC+1

Stretching can feel good. That matters. But if your goal is to recover faster and train better tomorrow, there are higher-impact levers: smart training design, sleep, nutrition, and appropriate intensity distribution.

4) Stretching before strength and speed needs planning

If you’re lifting heavy or doing explosive work, prolonged static stretching can reduce force production acutely. The panel recommends avoiding >60 seconds per muscle of static stretching before maximal or explosive contractions. Short-duration static stretching inside a dynamic warm-up, or dynamic stretching, does not show the same impairment. PMC+1

This is the difference between:

stretching as a brief “prep input”
stretching as the entire warm-up

The part most people miss: “tight” often isn’t a length problem

In the clinic, “tightness” is frequently a protective strategy.

Your brain senses a position or load you cannot control well, and it creates tone to limit motion. Stretching might reduce that sensation temporarily. But if you do not rebuild strength, control, and tolerance, the tightness returns because the underlying capacity did not change.

That’s why our process matters:

Step 1: Understand the problem

We figure out whether the limitation is true stiffness, skill, sensitivity, or load intolerance.

Step 2: Rebuild the foundation

We restore usable range with strength, control, and progressive loading.

Step 3: Raise the ceiling

We make sure the new range holds under real demand: lifting, running, sport, life.

Stretching can live inside this framework. But it cannot replace it.

Practical recommendations (so you can stop guessing)

If your goal is flexibility:
Use static stretching or PNF consistently (weeks), or lift through full range with control. PMC+1
If your goal is warm-up readiness:
Use dynamic warm-up and keep static stretching short (avoid >60s per muscle before explosive work). PMC+1
If your goal is fewer injuries:
Do not rely on stretching. Build capacity: strength, stability, progressive exposure. PMC
If your goal is recovery:
Stretch if it helps you downshift psychologically, but do not expect it to reduce DOMS or speed physiological recovery. PMC+1

FAQ Section (SEO Optimized for NYC)

Does stretching actually help tight muscles?
Stretching can temporarily increase range of motion, but persistent tightness is often related to low strength, poor control, or low tolerance to load rather than muscle length alone.

Is stretching good for preventing injuries?
Current research does not support stretching as a reliable injury prevention strategy. Progressive strength training and load management are more effective.

Should I stretch before working out?
Short duration stretching can be helpful if paired with a dynamic warm up. Long static stretching before heavy or explosive exercise may reduce strength output.

Is stretching good for recovery after workouts?
Stretching may feel good, but research does not show it significantly improves muscle soreness or recovery compared to rest and proper training design.

What is better than stretching for mobility?
Strength training through full ranges of motion often improves mobility more sustainably than stretching alone.

Can a physical therapist help with mobility without just stretching?
Yes. Performance based physical therapy focuses on strength, control, and progressive loading to improve usable range of motion and long term movement health.

Works Cited

Warneke K, et al. Practical recommendations on stretching exercise: A Delphi consensus statement of international research experts. (2025). PMC
Behm DG, et al. Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence: a systematic review. (2016). PubMed
Konrad A, et al. Chronic effects of stretching on range of motion: systematic review and meta-analysis. (2024). PubMed
Afonso J, et al. Strength training versus stretching for improving range of motion: systematic review and meta-analysis. (2021). PMC
Afonso J, et al. Effectiveness of post-exercise stretching on recovery (DOMS/strength/ROM): systematic review and meta-analysis. (2021).

YJ Cho