You've probably seen it a hundred times at the gym. Someone drops into a long hamstring hold before the first set and swears it keeps the pulls and strains away. Most of us just assume there has to be something to it.
A 2025 international expert consensus in the Journal of Sport and Health Science concluded that long static hold does almost nothing to prevent injuries. Twenty researchers from 12 countries reviewed the available evidence under a Delphi process.
Their panel does not recommend stretching for injury prevention in general.
The verdict rests on earlier research that reached the same place. A widely cited meta-analysis published in 2014 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine pooled 25 randomized trials with 26,610 participants.
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It found stretching produced a relative risk of 0.963 for sports injuries, essentially the same risk as doing nothing.
What actually cuts the injury risk
The same 2014 analysis showed two things that clearly do work. Strength training reduced sports injuries to less than one third of the usual rate. Balance and coordination work, often called proprioceptive training, cut the risk by about 45 percent.
The 2025 consensus falls in line with that picture. Its authors recommend building strength, stability, and postural control into training programs when the goal is fewer injuries. Stretching alone is not the tool for that job.
Why a dynamic warm-up still belongs before a workout
Walking away from pre-workout stretching does not mean skipping the warm-up. A dynamic warm-up means moving your joints through their full range while your heart rate climbs. Leg swings, walking lunges with a twist, arm circles, and a short jog all qualify.
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The idea is to prepare the body with movement that mirrors what you are about to do. According to National Geographic, 5 to 10 minutes of light aerobic activity followed by dynamic stretching is the current recommendation before sport or high-intensity exercise.
"Cold muscles are stiff and you could hurt yourself," said David Behm, a research professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
When static stretching does make sense
Static stretches, the kind where you hold a position for 30 seconds or more, are not useless. The 2025 consensus supports them for building long-term flexibility and range of motion.
Many experts suggest doing them after a workout, when the muscles are already warm, rather than before.
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For a reader whose pre-workout routine is long static holds, the consensus suggests 2 to 3 sets of static stretching daily for flexibility, each held between 30 and 120 seconds per muscle group.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.