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Running - Time to Jog Memory on Ways to Stretch by Budd Bailey

Buffalo News article from 3-12-2006

It's that time of year when runners return to the streets in large numbers. Which means it's time to think about stretching. Some warm-up time is always a good idea before a run of any sort - particularly a race - but some people don't know how to warm up, and how long to do it.

Michael Adesso, director of physical therapy and athletic training at University Sports Medicine in Williamsville, as well as a contributor to The News' Life and Arts section, starts with the good news.

"You only need to warm up for as little as 10 to 12 minutes," he said. But you have to make sure it's the right type of warm-up. Adesso told the recent Runner's Medical Forum at the University at Buffalo that runners shouldn't grab their ankles and pull them up to touch the back of their thighs - which is the stereotyped pose for a runner's prerace stretch. "That shuts down your nervous system," he said. "It doesn't prepare you for what you are about to do." Adesso is a believer in doing exercises that mirror the activity, which makes a great deal of sense. In this case, that includes a little light running.

Try some of these exercises:

• Make a variety of chopping motions with your arms - first up and down, then on a diagonal, and finally from side to side.

• Do leg lunges, in which you'll squat down a bit into a lunge position and then take exaggerated steps and swing your arms while keeping your chest up. A mere 10 to 15 yards on lunging will do.

• Grab on to something and swing one leg forward and backward like a pendulum, and then repeat with the other leg. Repeat 15 times. To get even closer to the running motion, bend the knee when the leg comes forward.

Adesso believes slow, steady stretching can wait - "afterwards or on the next day," he said.

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Michael Adesso, PT, ATC Director of Physical Therapy University Sports Medicine Amherst Location

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